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Celestyal Appoints COO Theophilides to Succeed CEO Anastassiadis

Liam Cusack ,

Theophilides Promotion to CEO Becomes Effective on July 1st

Chris Theophilides will take the CEO Helm in July. This comes as Celestyal makes strides in building Celestyal’s brand in North America

Athens, Greece:  Celestyal Cruises is promoting COO Chris Theophilides to succeed Kyriakos Anastassiadis July 1.

Theophilides has served as COO since January 2017, supporting Anastassiadis in a wide range of cross-functional activities. Before that, he was VP strategy and business development since October 2014, and he has worked in the cruise industry since 2006.

From 1998 to 2006, Theophilides served as senior manager, corporate finance at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he qualified as a certified public accountant. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and holds an MBA and a degree in economics from Rutgers University, New Jersey.

Anastassiadis credited with Celestyal’s strategic repositioning

Anastassiadis will wrap up his CEO tenure June 30. He has contributed to the company’s strategic repositioning and to developing and strengthening the Celestyal brand internationally.

The company thanked Anastassiadis for his contribution to Celestyal Cruises’ development and wished him good health and success in his future endeavors.

High profile as CLIA Europe chairman

Anastassiadis has been a prominent figure in European cruising in recent years due to his high-profile role as CLIA Europe chairman since late 2016 and from driving the new Celestyal branding, which he announced in August 2014 as an expansion to the Louis Cruises portfolio.

Addressing a CLIA Europe dinner earlier this year, he voiced optimism about cruising’s growth potential but stressed the need to focus on sustainability, deal with overtourism and strive for a zero carbon footprint.

Anastassiadis joined Louis as CEO in January 2012, following consulting and leadership roles with The Coca-Cola Co., Aujan Industries, Polaroid and Procter & Gamble.

Liam Cusack

Liam P. Cusack is the Managing Editor of Cruise & Travel Report (www.cruiseandtravelreport.com), a publication dedicated to providing travelers the same news that industry insiders receive. A self-described “travel nerd”, Liam is an Ocean Liner and Cruise Industry historian who has traveled to more than 60 countries, every US state and sailed on more than 60 cruises. After nearly two decades as an award-winning political journalist and investigative reporter at a major NYC daily newspaper, he decided to dedicate his career to helping avid travelers, like himself, be more well-informed. With Cruise & Travel Report, Liam strives to provide news and tips to make every vacation a dream vacation.