CLIA Officially Names Cindy D’Aoust As President And CEO

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) ended a year of uncertainty by announcing that acting CEO Cindy D’Aoust will stay on as its permanent CEO and president.

CLIA chairman Adam Goldstein made the announcement during the Seatrade Cruise Global conference in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday.

CLIA’s leadership has been unsettled since Christine Duffy, the current president of Carnival Cruise Line, left in 2015. Before D’Aoust was installed, former Coast Guard admiral Thomas Ostebo served as CEO for less than two months before leaving, citing personal reasons. D’Aoust, the group’s executive vice president at the time, was named acting CEO shortly after.

Before joining in December 2014, D’Aoust was chief operating officer of Meeting Professionals International for nearly three years.

“Cindy has a very good, very strong background in the hospitality industry, and I’m guessing she will bring a lot to the position because of her background with MPI,” Joan Eisenstodt, meetings guru and past member MPI’s international board, told TMR. “The cruise lines have suffered from so many silly errors, like sailing out into that storm. I think her strengths are needed, and will serve the cruise industry well.”

Meanwhile, at the State of the Cruise Industry panel at Seatrade on Tuesday, D’Aoust said, “I cannot tell you how honored I am to accept the responsibility of president and CEO for your organization.”