Claire Stirrup to head Celebrity...

New structure will see Hawke take on remit for international markets

Celebrity Cruises has promoted Giles Hawke and Claire Stirrup in a shake-up of its senior management structure.

Hawke steps up from his position as EMEA Vice-President and Managing Director to assume the role of Vice-President International, with responsibility for all regions outside North America.

The new role creates a management structure mirroring that of sister line Royal Caribbean International, with Hawke moving into the position 17 months after joining Celebrity from Cosmos, Globus and Avalon Waterways.

EMEA Senior Sales Director Stirrup moves up to become Managing Director UK and EMEA a year after she had her remit expanded as part of a team restructure.

Stirrup has worked for the Royal Caribbean Group for 11 years, the last 10 at Celebrity, and has been Sales Director for the past eight years. She was previously a Commercial and Regional Sales Manager for Tui.

She said: “As part of a new team structure to meet the evolving needs of the business, Giles has been promoted to a new position of Vice-President International, overseeing our international strategy. He will look after the APAC region including Australia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Mexico and the UK and EMEA markets.”

Hawke, who will continue to report into Celebrity President Laura Hodges Bethge, added: “The idea is to have a more cohesive global approach. Each market or region has worked quite independently in the past so we’re now establishing a more joined-up strategy which fits with the brand’s development and growth.

"In his new role he will oversee existing international offices and regions as well as “look at other international opportunities”.

Stirrup said she would back-fill her Sales Director position after stepping into her new role.

“We are actively recruiting for a sales director. Starting internally as we do with the majority of vacancies, but also possibly externally,” she added.

Sales, marketing and commercial functions will now all report into Stirrup, who will continue to report into Hawke.

“With all the announcements we have made recently, it’s an incredibly exciting time,” she said. “Xcel is on her way and we have announced another Edge series ship, so the brand is going from strength-to-strength and we’re in a really good position to really support this.”

Celebrity Edge Class ship Apex

Hawke said he would “not be offended” if Stirrup chose to change anything after taking the helm, but Stirrup said: “I won’t be making any immediate changes. I am delighted to lead a passionate team in this important market.”

The promotions come a month after parent company Royal Caribbean Group signed an agreement to order a sixth Edge Series ship for delivery to Celebrity Cruises in 2028.

The new ship will be the sister to Celebrity Xcel, which is preparing to enter service in 2025.

Other Edge ships include Celebrity Ascent, Celebrity Beyond, Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Edge.

Commenting on Celebrity’s recent announcement that it will launch into river cruising from 2027, Stirrup hinted: “There will be some news on that as we head into the coming months.”

To book Celebrity Cruises sailings, call UAE +971 4 331 4299, KSA 800 897 1419, email book@rccl.ae or visit www.celebritycruises.ae

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