Billionaire Micky Arison is stepping down from his executive role at Carnival Corporation, the troubled cruise company co-founded by his father, after more than three decades in charge of the business.
Arison will hand over the chief executive role to board member Arnold Donald on 3 July, although he remains chairman and the company's largest shareholder. In a statement he said: "I have been discussing this with the board for some time now and feel the timing is right to align our company with corporate governance best practices and turn over the reins after 34 years as chief executive."
Arison is listed by Forbes as the world's 169th richest person with a fortune of around $5.9bn (£3.8bn), including his 29% stake in Carnival, and also owns the Miami Heat basketball team. He became chief executive at a time when Carnival was privately owned, with three cruise ships and $44m in annual revenues. Following a merger with P&O Princess Cruises it now has 100 ships and revenues of $15bn.
But the company has been embroiled in crisis since 2012. The Costa Concordia capsized off the Italian coast last year killing 32 people while more recently its Carnival Triumph ship was adrift for five days in the Gulf of Mexico after an engine fire, stranding passengers without electricity or adequate sanitation.
Along with news of Arison's move, the company reported a 2% fall in second-quarter revenues and warned that bookings for the rest of 2013 were lower than a year ago due to its own particular problems as well as the weak global economy. But the market reacted positively, with Carnival's shares climbing 4.5% to £22.75 after the announcement. Panmure Gordon analyst Karl Burns said: "The management have been there a long time and there has not been much impetus to change the company and adapt to a different economic and trading environment. Now there may be changes in the business model, and there may be a feeling someone else can take it into the 21st century."
James Hollins at Investec said: "Carnival has been crying out for governance changes and we welcome the role split. Donald looks a strong appointment, having had extensive experience across Merisant (sweeteners) and Monsanto (agricultural/consumer goods) and having served on the Carnival board for 12 years. Mr Arison will, we firmly assume, continue to play a key role in group development, but we welcome both the second-quarter results and the management change."