Carnival Corp. will say goodbye this spring to Jan Swartz, its executive vice president of strategic operations and the former leader of Princess Cruises and Holland America Group. Swartz has been with the company for 24 years.
Carnival Corp. CEO Josh Weinstein called Swartz "irreplaceable" in an internal memo.
"I have to admit, accepting Jan's resignation has been tough," Weinstein said, adding he'll miss her contributions to the company and the example she set.
Swartz will take six months to a year off to spend time with family and friends before making her next career move, she said in a statement.
"I leave with a heart full of gratitude for all of the incredible relationships and extraordinary experiences I've had over the years and pride in our team's strength and resilience in bringing the business back to breaking records under Josh's great leadership," she said.
Swartz's current role includes overseeing government affairs, communications and global sustainability. She began her career leading customer service and sales for Princess Cruises and Cunard, then rose through the ranks until she was named Princess president in 2013. She also was president of Holland America Group, overseeing Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn and P&O Australia.
When Weinstein restructured and dissolved Holland America Group in 2023, he moved Swartz to corporate operations.
Swartz was president of Princess Cruises for eight years. Before ascending to that position, Swartz was Princess' executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer service; senior vice president of customer service; and vice president of strategy and business development.
According to a corporate memo, Swartz's departure will spur several leadership changes at the company as Carnival Corp. dissolves her position and reassigns her responsibilities.
The leadership reshuffling will move Weinstein's chief of staff, Aubrie Brake, to assistant vice president of legal operations, reporting to general counsel Rick Miquez. Replacing Brake as chief of staff is Gianna Fernandez, senior vice president of consumer marketing and commerce strategy at Princess Cruises.