Matthias Seeger joins as chief financial officer and Nick Hughes as chief operating officer; both will join the line’s senior ranks alongside Gardner. Seeger brings more than 25 years’ experience as a finance and business executive to the role, spanning a range of commercial disciplines.
Most recently, he served as chief financial officer of Costcutter Supermarket Group and sat on the group’s board. Seeger said he believed Ambassador had so far achieved a "solid financial basis" on which to build.
"It’s an exciting time to be joining the executive team," he said. "With ambitious plans for growth and development, I am looking forward to further defining the company’s financial plan and expanding the strategic finance function."
Hughes, meanwhile, is a chartered marine engineer. He started his career in the Royal Navy, which propelled him into nautical roles across several sectors, including defence, shipping and cruise ship operation
Until 2020, he spent seven years as head of technical operations with Marella Cruises where he was responsible for fleet management, budget control and compliance. His responsibilities with Ambassador will include overseeing maritime operations, engineering ,and the delivery of the line’s onboard and in-cruise experience.
"I’m delighted to be part of Ambassador’s exciting plans for the future," he said. "The overwhelming attraction for me was Ambassador’s clear vision and commitment to environmental protection, sustainability and upgrading the fleet to qualify within the top 10% of all cruise ships globally in terms of ESG rating."
’Valuable experience’
Gardner and Seeger started in their roles on Tuesday (1 February), while Hughes will start in March. As a result of the changes, Chris Coates will transition into a consultancy role as “ambassador-at-large”, operating from June onwards in a part-time capacity.
Furthermore, the appointment of Seeger will enable Simon Weeks – who has been operating in an interim capacity – to take up his new position as chief administrative officer full-time. Weeks will now focus on building and maintaining business processes, performance, and inter-departmental collaborations throughout the organisation.
Ambassador chief executive officer Christian Verhounig said the new recruits brought "extremely valuable" expertise from within the cruise industry and beyond. "I am very excited to formally welcome Matthias, Phil and Nick to the Ambassador family," he said.
"Their expertise from both within and outside the cruise industry will bring extremely valuable and diverse knowledge to the business, further accelerating Ambassador’s growth plans to be the leading premium-value, authentic cruise line."
