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Richard Fain stepping down


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6 minutes ago, cruisellama said:

  I wonder if he'll take a cruise or two when he retires?

Looks like he'll stay on as Chairman of the Board.  I imagine there will be a fairly long transition, though it looks like they've been planning for a while to insure a smooth hand over.

Quite the achievements for Royal under his leadership, he's certainly earned a retirement.

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He'll be around and always a phone call away.  How much Jason will leverage his wisdom and intimate knowledge of the industry remains unknown.  

Jason is a numbers guy, not so much a people person.  This could have a dramatic impact on things like loyalty programs.  Also unknown is Bayley's relationship with Jason.   Have they locked horns before or do they enjoy beers at the BBQ in each other's backyards every other weekend?   Only time will tell.  

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1 hour ago, Matt said:

Having seen what the Walt Disney Company is going through right now with its move from Iger to Chapek, this is a real concern.

That's why the timing, at least publicly, is concerning. The guy that's been the face of getting the company out of the pandemic restrictions leaving before they're truly free of restrictions (or at least gov't mandated restrictions).

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32 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

That's why the timing, at least publicly, is concerning. The guy that's been the face of getting the company out of the pandemic restrictions leaving before they're truly free of restrictions (or at least gov't mandated restrictions).

The board wants results as in fast positive numbers on a chart.  

The company has some hard choices to make that may be unpopular.  Fain knows that.  He'd rather go out on a high having carried the company through the pandemic and positioned it to make a full recovery.  Liberty may take a lot of heat but the truth is some hard changes will be necessary for the company to get back to the profitability that once came with ease.

Should be interesting going forward.

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43 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

That's why the timing, at least publicly, is concerning.

Fain is 72 years old, so he's no spring chicken. I think it's safe to say he saw the company through the worst of the pandemic and with the restart in full swing, now is a good time to step away because things are back on the rails.

Perhaps if there never was Covid, he would have stepped away sooner. We'll never know.

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15 minutes ago, Matt said:

Fain is 72 years old, so he's no spring chicken. I think it's safe to say he saw the company through the worst of the pandemic and with the restart in full swing, now is a good time to step away because things are back on the rails.

Perhaps if there never was Covid, he would have stepped away sooner. We'll never know.

I'm sure these past two years have been pretty stressful on him as well.  Probably a few more gray hairs compared to the start of the pandemic.  

Time to sit back and enjoy cruise travel without the weight of the entire group on his shoulders 24 x 7.  

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Given Fain's age, I'm not surprised he is stepping away. Maybe another few months into 2022 when better on their feet? Perhaps.

I think the issue here is the replacement, and it's today I wish Adam Goldstein was still with the company. He was the heir-apparent for a while, and then inexplicably went away.

Aside from Liberty, I'm not sure who they could have tapped.

Bayley needs corporate grooming, a la what Goldstein did when he moved away from RCI CEO.

After Liberty and Bayley, the choices become far less public. I cannot name some of the other top tier brass because they have very unpublic roles.

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4 minutes ago, Traveler said:

Heaving the CFO replacing the CEO usually not a good sign for us , many time it means short term revenue increase with less long term loyalty view. I hope I am wrong. Only time will tell.   

A recent HD who has been around for a while commented that Bayley is very pro C&A.  The extent to which he can buffer us from Liberty is unknown.  Liberty will be over the whole RCG but Bayley still leads Royal Caribbean International.   If Fain told Michael to cut C&A I'm sure he would comply but if Liberty goes there I don't know enough about their relationship to know how that would play out.  Time will tell.  

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5 hours ago, Matt said:

Having seen what the Walt Disney Company is going through right now with its move from Iger to Chapek, this is a real concern.

I thought of Disney as soon as I read the article. I think Disney is heading the wrong direction with all the changes to increase profitability. I just hope RCCL will continue to focus on value and service. 

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I wonder if the recent C&A changes are Jason's brainchild. The vouchers save a lot on alcohol. I also remember the reduced suite drinks that got rolled back. The charge for casitas on Odyssey.  I can see more things being a charge in the near future as the bottom line will be the focus

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18 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I wonder if the recent C&A changes are Jason's brainchild. The vouchers save a lot on alcohol. I also remember the reduced suite drinks that got rolled back. The charge for casitas on Odyssey.  I can see more things being a charge in the near future as the bottom line will be the focus

I don't see either Fain or Liberty getting into the weeds of the C&A program. 

They may both know exactly what it represents on the spreadsheet, but I really don't see them getting down to that level of any of the individual operating companies.  Don't forget about Michael Bayley.  He may be in the shadow of these two but HE is the leader of Royal Caribbean International, not Fain, not Liberty.  

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