Micky Arison Interview

[Classiccruiser777]

Interesting interview in the WSJ:

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324144304578623801850820478.html

[BlueRiband]

The link has a ''paywall'' with the text only available to WSJ subscribers.

[SEFlyer]

If you google it you'll be able to read it without hitting the paywall.

[Strictly Ballroom]

If you google it you'll be able to read it without hitting the paywall.

 

That hasn't been the case for me. I've tried several different links through google and repeatedly hit the paywall.

 

ETA: Okay, after trying several different ways, I finally found it!

[pepperrn]

I'd like to read this... does anyone have a (non-pay-for) link they would care to post here?

 

Thank you in advance :) .

 

Best wishes,

[SEFlyer]

This comes out top of the list on google for me:

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324144304578623801850820478.html

[pepperrn]

This comes out top of the list on google for me:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324144304578623801850820478.html

Thank you for posing the link (seen above, in post #1).

 

 

I'd like to read this... does anyone have a (non-pay-for) link they would care to post here?

 

Thank you in advance :) .

 

Best wishes,

[seasidegal]

Thank you for posing the link (seen above, in post #1).

 

 

I'd like to read this... does anyone have a (non-pay-for) link they would care to post here?

 

Thank you in advance :) .

 

Best wishes,

 

Hi pepper,

 

I couldn't read the article either but if you hit the link that is posted above there will be the tabs that say "article" and "video", I couldn't get the article

but I could watch the video.

 

best regards,

seasidegal

[seasidegal]

Thank you for posing the link (seen above, in post #1).

 

 

I'd like to read this... does anyone have a (non-pay-for) link they would care to post here?

 

Thank you in advance :) .

 

Best wishes,

 

 

Me again, pepper..:D

 

I just found a link that allows me to read the article.

 

http://online.barrons.com/article/SB120736027017791781.html?reflink=wsj_redirect#articleTabs_article%3D1

 

hope that works for you,

seasidegal

[BlueRiband]

Sorry seasidegirl but on my end the Barron's link opened an article dated April 7, 2008.

 

Can somebody summarize the WSJ article? Copy/paste would violate their copyright.

[pepperrn]

Me again, pepper..:D

Oh good!

I just found a link that allows me to read the article.http://online.barrons.com/article/SB120736027017791781.html?reflink=wsj_redirect#articleTabs_article%3D1 hope that works for you,

seasidegal

It did... for, sadly, 2008...

 

However, thank you :) , thank you :) .

[seasidegal]

Oh good!It did... for, sadly, 2008...

 

However, thank you :) , thank you :) .

 

Opps...my mistake. Trying to multi-task, pack and talk at the same time.:eek:

 

Hope this link is better:

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324144304578623801850820478.html

 

It is dated July 23, 2013 ...getting the year and date right helps, eh?:rolleyes:

 

best regards...again,

seasidegal

[BlueRiband]

It's the same link given by the OP - the page opens the title and byline but access to the text of the article requires a WSJ digital subscription. (Unless you are a subscriber, in which case you would see the full article. But anyone who is not won't.)

[seasidegal]

It's the same link given by the OP - the page opens the title and byline but access to the text of the article requires a WSJ digital subscription. (Unless you are a subscriber, in which case you would see the full article. But anyone who is not won't.)

 

 

 

I'm getting it and not a subscriber. However, you need the full link...

 

will separate the link and see if it will work for you.

 

just remove the dash that I put in after I post it and it should work.

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/- SB10001424127887324144304578623801850820478.html

 

if not...not sure what else I can do as I don't think I'm allowed to cut and paste it.

 

sorry.

 

seasidegal

[SEFlyer]

I'm sorry you can't get it from the link I posted. I hit my own link and it didn't work. But when I googled "Mickey Arison Wall Street Journal Interview" it came up again and I had no problem reading it.

 

Here it is:

 

 

By JOANN S. LUBLIN and ARIAN CAMPO-FLORES CONNECT

 

Micky Arison on stepping down from the CEO role at Carnival Corp. and sharing power with the new top boss.

 

Micky Arison gave up command of Carnival Corp. CCL +1.22% this month amid rough seas for the world's biggest cruise-ship company.

 

But Mr. Arison, Carnival's biggest individual shareholder, will keep his chairmanship and corner office indefinitely. That could complicate things for Arnold Donald, the outside director who succeeded him as chief executive.

 

Carnival appears headed for a third straight year of lower profits, hurt by a sluggish economy and some high-profile calamities at sea. A vessel owned by its Costa Crociere SpA unit was shipwrecked off Italy's coast in January 2012, killing 32. And an engine-room fire aboard the Carnival Triumph in February turned into a PR disaster, leaving more than 3,000 passengers without functioning toilets for days in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Enlarge Image

 

Adrienne Grunwald for The Wall Street Journal

Micky Arison, chairman and former CEO of Carnival Corp., aboard the Carnival Splendor in New York earlier this month.

 

Enlarge Image

 

European Pressphoto Agency

Carnival's troubles began with the sinking of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Giglio Island, Italy, in 2012.

 

The 64-year-old Mr. Arison has spent his entire career at Carnival, which his father launched in 1972 with a single ship. Named CEO in 1979, he has doubled its fleet over the past decade.

 

A famously hands-off manager, Mr. Arison says he doesn't expect to play a day-to-day role as chairman, but he does plan to remain actively involved.

 

Mr. Arison, who lives on his yacht in Miami, where Carnival is based, also owns the Miami Heat basketball team. Interviewed recently aboard Carnival's Splendor, which was docked in New York, he discussed the leadership switch, European struggles and why its ships are traveling slower.

 

Edited excerpts:

 

WSJ: How will you and Mr. Donald share power? And why did he get a different corner office than yours?

 

Mr. Arison: I am not moving out for the foreseeable future. There's 34 years of memorabilia. I have no place to put all this stuff.

 

WSJ: What will you do as chairman?

 

Mr. Arison: Whatever Arnold wants. The way I view being a manager is to get the best people and let them do their job [and] then be available when they need help.

 

It is not going to be a simple or easy transition for me. Obviously in 34 years as CEO, I learned some things about the business. Arnold is going to have somewhat of a learning curve. Being in management is different than being on the board.

 

WSJ: Investors are curious about your game plan for restoring profit growth. What have you told them?

 

Mr. Arison: I said, "Ask Arnold how he is going to improve the financial situation."

 

WSJ: Which CEO duty do you want to retain as chairman?

 

Mr. Arison: I enjoy overseeing new ship construction. I have been doing it for a long time. Once construction has started, I help in negotiating the final specifications and stuff like that.

 

WSJ: How long will you remain chairman?

 

Mr. Arison: To not be on the board and not be chairman would be really hard. This has been my life 24/7, seven days a week for 40-plus years. As long as I have decent health, I am going to try to contribute something.

 

WSJ: What challenges loom for Carnival?

 

Mr. Arison: Our biggest challenge is to turn around brands impacted by recent events. The Carnival Cruise Lines incident involving the Triumph is an industry issue. Its market share in the U.S. is very, very large. Rebuilding confidence in the Carnival Cruise Lines brand is a key priority.

 

But it has been extremely hard. To put it into perspective, 3,000 passengers were impacted by the Triumph incident. None was hurt. It was a passenger comfort issue. We apologized.

 

WSJ: Some company advisers say it could take years for the Carnival brand to recover from recent ship mishaps. Why?

 

Mr. Arison: Our crisis consultants went through a significant number of other crises. Generally, it took two to three years to see recovery.

 

The reality is Costa has gone from losing money to being profitable again very quickly. Carnival Cruise Lines already made the turn toward having positive customer perception again. The North American market for the industry will be impacted by the Carnival Cruise Lines situation again next year.

 

WSJ: What global challenges do you foresee for Carnival and its industry?

 

Mr. Arison: We face a weak economic situation in Europe. Spain and Italy are heavily impacted. Southern Europe is going to continue to struggle. Europe is a very significant piece of our business, representing about 35% of annual revenue.

 

Fuel has become another big issue. A lot of our ships were designed in a low-price fuel environment. Over the last six to eight years, fuel costs have more than quadrupled.

 

To control them, we are conserving. The biggest single thing is slowing ships down, which saves on fuel. In the last five years, our fuel consumption is down 21% per passenger. We are projecting our fuel consumption per passenger to be down another 5% this fiscal year.

 

WSJ: How soon will your advertising and marketing expenditures increase?

 

Mr. Arison: We will spend significant dollars this fiscal year—a projected $575 million compared with $527 million in fiscal 2012. Carnival Cruise Lines will be going back to television commercials in the fall.

 

WSJ: How fast is the company growing in Asia?

 

Mr. Arison: Last year, Asia accounted for 1.5% of our customers, and this year, it likely will be 3%. I wouldn't be surprised if it is in the 10% to 20% area in the next five years.

 

Our Princess cruise line has recently gone into Japan. They will be tripling their capacity for Japan and entering the China market next year.

 

WSJ: During the Triumph mishap, the head of the Carnival brand slept in a corporate crisis room. Why weren't you there, too?

 

Mr. Arison: You can be in constant communication without being in the crisis room. This is my style of management.

 

WSJ: Should Mr. Donald be the highly visible face of the company when your next cruise-ship mishap occurs?

 

Mr. Arison: That will be his decision. It was not something that I was comfortable with. Time will tell how successful we were. If the results aren't there, I will be perfectly happy to take the blame.

 

WSJ: Who will have the final say if you [and Mr. Donald] disagree on corporate strategy, such as divestitures?

 

Mr. Arison: Arnold will make the decision if it is a day-to-day situation. If it is something normally taken to the board and we don't have a consensus, the board will hear both sides and make its decision.

 

Divestitures are always possible with brands or ships. Brands will be a board-level decision. I find it hard to believe that we wouldn't be aligned.

[pepperrn]

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone above for all their efforts to let us all read this news item :) :) :) .

 

Sincere best wishes to all.