Former Crystal Cruises President Edie Rodriguez Joins Ponant
byDoug Gollan/
Edie Rodriguez has joined Ponant Cultural Cruises & Expeditions as Americas brand chairman and corporate special advisor, a month after she resigned as president and CEO of Crystal Cruises.
Rodriguez left Crystal last month after a fast-paced tenure that saw the luxury cruise line expand from two large ocean ships to river and yacht cruises, as well as private jet charter with its own 84-seat Boeing 777-200LR and Bombardier Global Express.
在她的新角色,罗德里格斯告诉旅游市场代表ort she believes there is a big opportunity to expand the growing interest in expedition cruises.
Calling Ponant’s vessels a “Ferrari” with the “sexiest hard product” of the segment, she says her main focus will be making expedition cruising and Ponant top of mind with travel agents who she sees as the engine to delivering increased sales growth. Navin Sawhney continues in his role as CEO for the region and Rodriguez says the two will work together to promote the company
Ponant, like Crystal, seems to have large ambitions with multiple new ships on order. Two years ago it was acquired by Artemis, the holding company of the Pinault family, which also owns luxury fashion brands such as Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Stella McCartney and Brioni as well as watchmaker Ulysse Nardin, jeweler Boucheron, and auction house Christie’s.
Ponant的首席执行官Jean-EmmanuelSauvée当时表示,Artemis“分享了我们对Ponant作为高端邮轮市场全球球员的愿景和野心。”
Rodriguez says Ponant is unique in combining a French take on luxury cruising, small ships that can access small ports in both Arctic and tropical destinations with cultural and experiential immersion she believes will appeal to the preferences of today’s affluent consumer.
她说:“当您查看行程时,每个人都是遗愿清单的旅程。”罗德里格斯(Rodriguez)说,波恩南特(Ponant)具有独特的结合,即拥有其创始人索维(Sauvee)的愿景,并获得了重大的财务支持。Artemis在其网站上报告了超过300亿美元的资产。