• 4 min de lectura
• 4 min de lectura
Mark Ittel, a highly regarded cruise destination planning expert who led the ports & maritime group at Bermello Ajamil & Partners and worked on many significant projects around the globe, died Sunday night. He was 62.
Over several years, Ittel fought an aggressive form of lymphoma, beating the disease back multiple times and continuing to work before succumbing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee, surrounded by family and close friends.
Ittel joined Miami-based BA 26 years ago in project management and rose to lead operations as partner, SVP ports & maritime and a board member. He was involved in scores of cruise projects, from South Florida to Singapore, Halifax to Hong Kong, Denmark to India.
"He really loved the cruise industry and the people in it and looking at the potential for destinations. He loved that. He liked what we do every day," BA President/CEO Luis Ajamil said.
Ittel played a key role in BA's success, helping establish the company as a respected leader and trusted expert in the maritime sector. He is remembered by his colleagues as a "larger-than-life presence" who was "big in stature and personality ... gregarious, witty and known for his big voice, infectious laugh and even bigger heart."
"He was someone I genuinely enjoyed working with and spending time with at industry events. With his wealth of experience, he always found practical solutions and approached every challenge with professionalism, perspective and good humor," said David Candib, SVP commercial & operations at Cruise Terminals International with long prior experience in port development and operations at Carnival Cruise Line and Carnival Corp.
"What I admired most was his outlook on life," Candib said. "Even through the health challenges of recent years, he remained positive, resilient and an inspiration to me and those around him."
Ittel had a "good eye for potential" and was a good planner, Ajamil said.
He worked on the master plan for PortMiami and led Port of Galveston's master plan, which resulted in new cruise terminals for Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises and Carnival's terminal upgrade. He was part of a team that planned and designed or contributed expertise to cruise terminals including four at Port Everglades for Carnival Corp., Singapore International Cruise Terminal (2012), Hong Kong Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (2013) and San Francisco Pier 27 Cruise Terminal (2014).
Waterfront master plans were created for Dublin, Gibraltar, Valencia and Genoa, among others, along with cruise market assessments, sometimes for entire countries, and strategic plans and terminal operating plans for such clients as Victoria and Vancouver, BC; Halifax, Bar Harbor, San Diego, JAXPORT, Tampa, Cape Verde, Elsinore (Denmark) and many others.
Ittel's resume, with a decade at Royal Caribbean in shore excursion programs and destination development, stood out when it came to Ajamil in early 2000 because he was not an engineer or architect but he knew destinations. Ittel had started on the ships at Royal Caribbean and met his future wife Dawn at the cruise line.
During his university studies in mass communications in Minnesota, he was a radio host whose communication skills subsequently stood out at industry conferences and community presentations.
"Everyone knew him. He had a broad reach," Ajamil said. "He loved attending Seatrade. It was his thing, meeting friends from all over the world."
Nancy Houley, consultant for Cruise the Saint Lawrence and former cruise market director at the Port of Québec, worked on several projects and market studies with Ittel.
"He was always honest, generous with his knowledge and an incredible resource to so many of us. Mark was also always a hit as a speaker. His knowledge, experience and engaging style made someone people genuinely looked forward to hearing.
"More importantly, Mark became a friend," said Houley, speaking for many in the cruise industry.
Ittel is survived by his wife Dawn and their daughters Kelsea and Alyssa. A friend established a fund to help support the family.
A celebration of life is planned at a future date in Miami.
