Azamara Names Dondra Ritzenthaler as New CEO, Alain Ferzli as New CFO

Azamara is appointing two new senior executives to lead the company moving forward. 

Dondra Ritzenthaler will be the Chief Executive Officer. Ritzenthaler is a 40-year veteran of the travel industry and was most recently the Senior Vice President of Sales, Trade Support and Services for the Americas for Celebrity Cruises. Before spending 20 years with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, she worked for nearly 20 years with American Airlines in a number of sales and marketing leadership roles.

Ritzenthaler will begin as CEO at Azamara in May 2024. Until then, Chair of Azamara, Dan Hanrahan, will provide day-to-day leadership and oversight of the team.

“Azamara provides a unique and exciting offering within the luxury cruise space, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the company into its next chapter,” said Ritzenthaler. “I look forward to working with the talented team and their travel partners to better serve the customer base and grow the Azamara brand.”

Effective immediately, Alain Ferzli wll be Azamara's Chief Financial Officer. He has over 20 years of experience in the cruise industry helping drive growth while serving as the acting Chief Financial Officer for Virgin Voyages and in various financial leadership roles with Royal Caribbean.

On the two new moves, Hanrahan stated, “Our team has worked diligently to maintain a solid foundation for Azamara amid unique industry-wide challenges over the last several years. Dondra and Alain’s deep knowledge of and experience leading cruise lines will support the shift of our focus to expanding our business and realizing Azamara’s full potential.”

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