Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has reached a cooperative agreement with activist investor Elliott Investment Management and has appointed five new board members.
The new members include two former travel industry executives: former British Airways CEO Alex Cruz and former Disney Experiences CFO Kevin Lansberry. New CEO John Chidsey has been named chairman.
The other three new board members are Steve Pagliuca, a former managing partner of Bain Capital; Brian MacDonald, president and CEO of auto sales tech company CDK Global; and Jonathan Cohen, CEO of Hepco Capital Management.
Four current board members are resigning: Stella David, David Abrams, Harry Curtis and Mary Landry.
The agreement with Elliott reflects "a shared commitment to driving improved performance," according to NCLH.
Elliott says it owns an NCLH stake exceeding 10% and called for change in board leadership in February toward a goal of increasing shareholder value.
NCLH described the new board members as "independent directors." Its slate at the annual general meeting of shareholders will include new member Cruz and current directors Zillah Byng-Thorne and Linda Jojo.
Elliott, which had previously criticized the company's swift appointment of Chidsey as CEO upon Harry Sommer's exit had a different tone in a press release Friday.
"We see the potential for significant value creation ahead under John's leadership," said Elliott partner John Pike and portfolio manager Bobby Xu, adding that they've had "constructive engagement" with him.
Chidsey said, "We are moving with urgency to strengthen the business and enhance execution."
During the company's earnings call earlier this month, Chidsey had said the company needed improvement on "execution and coordination" of its business strategy.
The change in board leadership was announced the morning of Norwegian Cruise Line's christening ceremony for its newest ship, the Norwegian Luna, the company's biggest media event since the NCLH leadership transition in February.