FIU Launches Cruise Executive Advisory Board to Drive Talent and Research

Florida International University (FIU) launched its Cruise Executive Advisory Board (CEAB), a body made up of senior-level executives from the cruise industry, as part of the new FIU Cruise Excellence Center led by the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. The board held its first meeting, chaired by Larry Pimentel, FIU's distinguished cruise executive in residence, where talent development and research were identified as the two priority areas for collaboration between the university and the industry.

The CEAB brings together presidents, CEOs and senior executives from various cruise lines and organizations across the cruise ecosystem. Its members include David Bernstein (CEO of Carnival Corp.), Michael Bayley (President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International), Marc Kazlauskas (President of Norwegian Cruise Line), Neil Palomba (EVP of Operations at MSC Cruises), Tracy Wilson (SVP and GM of Disney Cruise Line), Jonathan Wilson (President and CEO of Aman at Sea), Christopher Prelog (President of Windstar Cruises) and Samuel Chamberlain (CEO of the Americas for Ponant Explorations), along with Michelle Paige (CEO of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association), Matthew Upchurch (Chairman and CEO of Virtuoso) and Robin Lindsay (CEO of Apollo Maritime Services). According to Seatrade Cruise, together they represent 85% of the cruise industry's berth capacity.

FIU's president, identified as Janet Nuñez by Seatrade Cruise and as Jeanette Nuñez by Cruise Industry News and PRNewswire, said the launch of the Cruise Excellence Center represents a historic partnership in Miami, the 'Cruise Capital of the World,' and an opportunity for FIU to engage with an industry of enormous importance to the region and the global economy. Chaplin School Dean Michael Cheng stated that the school will serve as the center's academic leader, connecting expertise from different university disciplines with the challenges posed by the industry. Pimentel emphasized that the board is not meant to be a ceremonial body but a genuine, independent and connected working partnership that combines industry expertise, academic rigor and the next generation of talent.

As a result of the inaugural meeting, the CEAB established two initial working groups: Talent and Workforce Development, and Research and Business Intelligence. The first will be chaired by Bettina Deynes, Chief Human Resources Officer of Carnival Corp., and will work alongside FIU academics and HR professionals from other cruise lines on issues such as curriculum updates and a possible universal internship program. Among the potential research areas mentioned by the university are the future cruise workforce, shifting consumer demand, emerging technologies and artificial intelligence, environmental responsibility, crew welfare, destination tourism management strategies, operational performance, and logistics and the supply chain. The board's next meeting is scheduled for January 15.

The new center builds on FIU's existing academic foundation in cruise studies, which includes an undergraduate degree program in Cruise Line Management and a Master's in Hospitality Management with a specialization in Cruise Line Operations. According to data cited by Seatrade Cruise, the Chaplin School's hospitality program ranks No. 1 in Florida, third in the United States and 23rd globally according to the QS World University Rankings 2026, while FIU holds Carnegie R1 status for research output.