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Holland America Line announced that Orlando
Ashford will join the company as president. Ashford joins the company from
Mercer, a global consulting firm, where he was president of the Talent Business
Segment.
“We are fortunate to have Orlando join our team, bringing with him a career's
worth of global experience leading high-performance teams that helped innovate
some of the most respected and well-known companies in the world,” said Stein
Kruse, CEO of the Holland America Group. “I am confident that Orlando’s
leadership will enable Holland America Line to build on its uncompromising
Signature of Excellence commitment to deliver a superior guest experience that
will continue generating rave reviews from our guests, travel professionals and
the industry alike.”
Ashford will oversee Holland America’s sales and marketing, revenue management,
deployment and itinerary planning, public relations, hotel operations and
strategy. He will report to Kruse and will be part of the Group’s executive
leadership team alongside brand leaders Jan Swartz, president of Princess
Cruises; Richard Meadows, president of Seabourn and president of Cunard North
America; and Ann Sherry AO, chief executive officer, Carnival Australia. Ashford
will relocate to the Holland America headquarters office in Seattle.
Prior to his role at Mercer, Ashford served as senior vice president, chief
human resources and communications officer of Mercer's parent company, Marsh &
McLennan Companies. He also has held several other leadership roles during the
course of his career, including group director of human resources for 90
countries in Eurasia and Africa for the Coca-Cola Company and vice president
Corporate Center human resources and cultural transformation. Previously he was
vice president of global human resources strategy and organizational development
for Motorola, where he helped modernize the human resources function for the
global tech leader.
Ashford’s recently published book, Talentism, addresses the global disconnect
between available jobs – more than one-third of employers worldwide cannot fill
all available jobs – and the estimated 202 million eligible workers who are
unemployed worldwide. Ashford examines how technology and human networks can
help bridge the skills gap, improve business performance, and lead to the
betterment of society at large.
Ashford is on the board of directors for a global manufacturing company ITT
Corporation. He is among the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD)
2013 and 2014 “Directorship 100,” and has been honored as a Purdue University
School of Technology Distinguished Alumnus. An active community supporter, he is
on the board of directors for the Executive Leadership Council, a membership
organization for the development of global black leaders, and for Streetwise
Partners, an organization that brings together low-income individuals and
volunteer business professionals to develop workplace skills and employment
networks. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science degree in
Organizational Leadership and Industrial Technology from Purdue University. |
