Royal Caribbean Group’s Longtime CEO Richard Fain is Stepping Down

Royal Caribbean Group’s Richard Fain, who has served the company as chief executive officer for more than 33 years, will step down as the group’s CEO effective Jan. 3, 2022.

Royal Caribbean Group, which includes Royal, Silversea, and Celebrity Cruise, made the announcement on Tuesday morning, adding that Jason Liberty, the current chief financial officer, will succeed him as CEO and join the Board of Directors, a board that Fain will also remain part of.

Fain’s accomplishments not just with Royal but with the segment, in general, make him an iconic figure for the cruise industry. He is the third-longest serving CEO among all S&P 500 companies, having taken the reins at Royal in 1988, and has twice been named as one of the World’s 30 Bet CEOs by Barron’s.

Under his leadership, Royal Caribbean Group grew each of its brands, adding ship-classes including Royal Caribbean’s Sovereign, Voyager, and Oasis classes, along with Celebrity Cruise’ Solstice and Edge classes.

He was also instrumental in getting Royal through the industry’s toughest time in its history, the COVID-19 pandemic, including helping create the Healthy Sail Panel, a decision that helped the cruise industry relaunch following the COVID shutdown.

“As with most storms, it gets worse before it gets better, but it’s hard to remember that this too shall pass,” Fain said during one of his live streams early in the pandemic.

Fain has also been a major figure in the travel trade, lifting up the business of travel agencies throughout all of the turmoil over the years. Just this August, during the latest ASTA Advocacy Dinner, Fain, who was on hand to receive ASTA’s lifetime achievement award, personally donated $100,000 to the PAC. That donation matched a similar donation from Royal earlier in the night.

In a statement, Fain gave thanks to the employees at Royal Caribbean Group for helping the company succeed during his tenure as CEO.

“There are no words to express my admiration and appreciation to the people of the Royal Caribbean Group, who have been drivers of our success; and my profound appreciation for the support and guidance of the Board of Directors during good times and bad throughout this long period of sustained growth,” Fain said in a statement on Tuesday.

Fain also added that with the company almost fully back operating from the shutdown, and all three of its brands operating under the leadership of their own “exceptional CEOS,” it was the right time to step down.

“Given the great depth and breadth of our leadership and the positive outlook for our business, this is the appropriate time to step aside and have Jason take over,” he said.

Liberty, for his part, has been with Royal since 2005, serving in a number of different financial and operational roles. He has been serving as CFO since 2013, including helping with the acquisition of Silversea Cruises in summer 2020 and its joint ventures with TUI Cruises and Hapag Lloyd.  

Naftali Holtz, currently the SVP of finance for Royal Caribbean Group, will take over as CFO when Liberty assumes the CEO role.