Arnold Donald has stepped down from Carnival Corp’s board of directors, after two decades of leadership with the world’s largest cruise ship owner.
Donald, 67, joined the board in 2001 before becoming chief executive in July 2013 to replace Micky Arison, who has since served as chairman. He will leave the board on 30 November.
Donald has resigned from the board as vice-chairman seven months after announcing that he would relinquish his chief executive role on 1 August and hand the CEO baton to Josh Weinstein, former chief operations officer.
New York-listed Carnival announced Donald’s stepping down as chief executive on 26 April at the Seatrade Cruise Global 2022 conference in Miami.
“I am extremely proud of all we have accomplished together these past nine years, including the critical roles played by the board, the senior leadership and every person in this amazing company who worked tirelessly with unmatched commitment, dedication and ingenuity to put our company, following the global pandemic’s industry impact, in a position to continue the sustained success we were enjoying,” Donald said in a statement.
“It is an honour and a privilege to serve this great company, and after 21 years of serving on the board, I feel the time is right for me to step aside, making room for others to enjoy the experience of contributing their leadership to our company while providing me increased flexibility to contribute outside of Carnival Corp.”
Arison thanked Donald for his leadership and efforts over the years.
“He leads by example, listens intently, acts with integrity and puts a strong emphasis on supporting everyone around him. Arnold connects deeply with people and has an extraordinary ability to communicate, which has made him one of the most important and influential voices in our industry,” Arison said in a statement.
Carnival has not announced a board replacement for Donald, who has agreed to continue to provide counsel and advice to the company and its boards through a consulting agreement.
Before becoming Carnival chief executive, Donald held several executive positions with St Louis agrichemical company Monsanto.
He then joined a group of investors and bought Monsanto’s Equal sugar substitute and formed Merisant Co, where he was chief executive until 2003. He retired as chairman in 2005 at 51.
He owned a minor-league baseball team for about a decade before becoming Carnival chief executive.
