Micky Arison ~ Chairman/CEO, Carnival Corporation & plc and FCCA Chairman

Micky Arison grew up in the cruise business and spent the better part of two decades learning it from the ground up before becoming chairman in 1990.

Arison, 58, followed his education with a two-year stint in Carnival Cruise Lines sales department. He became reservations manager in 1974, and took over the post of vice president of passenger traffic in 1976, succeeding to the presidency of Carnival in 1979. In 1990, he was appointed chairman by the company's board of directors.

Carnival went public in 1987, raising $400 million for future expansion. The company continued its growth through the traditional avenue of new ship construction and also began to diversify expanding the company's cruise operations by entering new market segments of the industry.

By early 1989, Arison engineered the acquisition of the venerable Holland America Line, giving Carnival entrée to the premium segment of the cruise industry. The purchase also included Westours (now Holland America Tours), a leading Alaska tour operator.

Today, Carnival Corporation also owns ultra-luxury Cunard Line, operator of the recently launched Queen Mary 2 – largest ocean liner ever constructed – along with Seabourn Cruise Line, and Genoa, Italy-based Costa Cruises, Europe’s leading cruise operator.

In April 2003, Arison spearheaded the dual listed company transaction combining Carnival Corporation’s various cruise operators with the wide-ranging brands of P&O Princess Cruises, creating a truly global cruise operator with the leading cruise brands in both North America and Europe.

The P&O Princess Cruises transaction included Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises, Ocean Village, AIDA Cruises, and P&O Cruises Australia.

Following the transaction, the company was renamed Carnival Corporation & plc and is traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges. It is the only company in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.

Arison's keen attention to marketing and growth priorities has resulted in revenues increasing from approximately $600 million in 1988 to $11.84 billion in 2006.

Arison currently serves as chairman of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), a trade organization whose mandate is to provide a forum for discussion on legislation, tourism development, ports, safety, security and other cruise industry issues. He is also past-chairman of the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL), a Washington, D.C.-based trade group focusing on the cruise industry's legislative issues.

Arison’s contributions to the cruise industry have been recognized by a wide range of international organizations. He has been named an “Officer of the French Legion of Honor” – the country’s highest civilian honor – by French President Jacques Chirac, received a honorary doctorate in naval architecture from the University of Genoa, and was awarded the Decoration of Commander, First Class, of the Order of the Lion of Finland by the President of the Republic of Finland.

He has also been awarded the insignia of “Onorificenza al Merito della Repubblica Italiana” by the president of Italy, which confers that country's highest title on a civilian.

Arison is also the managing general partner of the NBA’s Miami Heat franchise and serves as chairman of the league’s board of governors.

Arison and his family are longtime residents of the Miami area.