Dan Hanrahan is leaving his job as CEO of Celebrity Cruises to become CEO of Regis, a public company that has 12,000 hair salons, including well known brands Supercuts and Regis.
In an interview Wednesday, Hanrahan said he wasn't looking to make a career change, but was contacted by a headhunter representing a company that "was looking for new leadership, for somebody who understands good consumer experiences."
"I love the cruise industry and I love our company, but something really exciting came along and it was too good to say no," he said.
Regis' board was impressed by his hospitality background, marketing background and leadership ability, he said.
In turn, Hanrahan was impressed by the Regis board members he met. "I really liked the people I worked with [at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.]. And it looks like I'll again have that opportunity."
Hanrahan characterized his departure as "very amicable," and that he is "doing everything I can to make sure it's a good tranistion. [RCCL] has been really good to me since I spoke to them [about leaving]. They've been really terrific. The Celebrity brand is really working well. There's a great team there with a really strong bench, so I'm not worried about [how it will do going forward]."
Before coming to RCCL, Hanrahan had worked with consumer brands Polaroid and Reebok. At Celebrity, he said, he became very focused on the customer experience, and that Regis was interested in that aspect of his experience.
"I feel better prepared [for this] than before I came into the travel business," he said. "Treating the customer well and making sure they have a good experience" has been an important focus for him, he said. "You won't find me with a scissors in my hand, but hopefully [Regis will] be able to shift the vernacular and they'll have 'guests' rather than 'customers.'"
The change of jobs will also include a change of venue: He will be moving from Miami to Minneapolis, though he said he will continue to keep an apartment in Miami.
Hanrahan will leave Celebrity at the end of the month, then plans to take a week off to "really try to decompress. Then jump in."
As regards to a successor, he said that nothing had been announced yet, and he wasn't sure when an announcement might be forthcoming.
RCCL chairman and CEO Richard Fain on Wednesday also declined to comment on when a successor would be named.
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