Tart-tongued Carnival Exec Retires
The chief executive of Carnival Cruise Lines has announced his retirement from the cruise business. Bob Dickinson, the man who developed the cruise industry into a force to be reckoned with on Wall Street, announced the other day that he will retire from his post at the end of the year. Carnival Cruise Lines CFO Gerry Cahill will supersede him.
Bob Dickinson has been at his job for more than 35 years and turns 65 in August. Dickinson will stay on as a director of the parent company of Carnival Cruise Lines. Carnival will be hard-pressed to find a more exacting CEO than Dickinson. The redoubtable executive is credited with bringing to cruising amenities of the likes never previously known on liners. Dickinson was the driving force behind the ‘fun ship’ advertising concept, and was able to attract a more youthful demographic to Carnival.
Dickinson will be leaving his job in extremely capable hands. As CFO since 2003, Gerry Cahill has overseen the complex finances for Carnival, a highly profitable company that earned $2.28 billion for its last fiscal year and has a stock market capitalization of $40 billion. That job has given him insight into the operations of Carnival Cruise Lines and the nine other cruise line brands under the Carnival corporate umbrella.