Celebrity Cruises names Giles Hawke as Vice President & Managing Director EMEA

Celebrity Cruises announced today that Giles Hawke has been appointed as Vice President & Managing Director for the EMEA region of the award-winning travel company.

Hawke will report to Celebrity’s new President, Laura Hodges Bethge and will oversee all aspects of Celebrity’s EMEA business.  He joins the company in September 2023 and will succeed Jo Rzymowska who has been at the helm for the last 18 years.

Hawke joins Celebrity with a wealth of industry knowledge, celebrating 30 years in the travel industry.   Hawke first built his reputation in the cruise sector at Carnival UK as Sales and Customer Service Director.  Since then, he has held several senior positions including Managing Director UK & Ireland for MSC Cruises and, most recently, CEO for Cosmos Tours Ltd where he led the transformation of the touring and river cruise business.

President of Celebrity Cruises, Laura Hodges Bethge said, “I am excited to welcome Giles into Celebrity.  His strong leadership, commercial expertise and experience in the sector is second to none and I look forward to having his insight on my leadership team to help shape and grow our market share in EMEA”.

Giles Hawke added, “I’m thrilled to be joining Celebrity and to being part of this dynamic company.  I have watched from a distance as the company has grown its share with ground-breaking ships and strong brand identity. I look forward to being a part of Celebrity’s next exciting chapter under Laura Hodges Bethge’s leadership”.

Hawke also serves on the CLIA Executive Committee and will continue to support and lead change for the sector in his new role at Celebrity Cruises.