Delivering the Wow: Culture as Catalyst for Lasting Success with Richard Fain

Description

Meet us at The Hub to learn about how a culture of “WOW” transformed the travel industry from one of the “World’s Best CEOs” Richard Fain as he speaks about 33 years at the helm of Royal Caribbean in his newly released book Delivering the Wow: Culture as Catalyst for Lasting Success. Richard Fain will speak in conversation with Alberto Ibargüen, former President and CEO of the Knight Foundation. A welcome reception will precede the talk.

“WOW!” was the word on everyone’s lips as the first guests stepped aboard Icon of the Seas, the largest, most spectacular cruise ship ever created.

Icon was one of many WOWs generated by a standout culture during the tenure of Richard Fain, regularly named one of Barron’s “World’s Best CEOs.” Under Fain’s leadership, Royal Caribbean Group built the world's most innovative ships—large and small—and one of the strongest service cultures in the travel industry.

In Delivering the WOW, Fain shows how a culture united people around a mission, delighted guests, and unlocked extraordinary performance. Drawing on vivid stories from 33 years at the helm, Fain explains how a remarkable culture was forged and strengthened through:
•Alignment: ensuring every employee understands the same clear mission, beyond hierarchy or titles
•Intentionality: never losing sight of the ultimate goal and ensuring that every action, big or small, supports that objective
•Continuous improvement: never being satisfied; always believing that there are ways to improve
•Crisis response: deeply rooted culture as a stabilizing force during black swan events, including the global pandemic

Invaluable principles like these are woven into unforgettable stories which help explain how the company's profitability, guest capacity, and employee base all grew more than thirtyfold. Fain also candidly recounts mistakes he made along the way. He takes readers inside tough decisions during high-stakes crises—including the COVID shutdown—that helped rally 100,000 employees to beat the odds and unify the company like never before.

Beyond its valuable lessons, the book offers cruise enthusiasts a behind-the-scenes look at the dedicated teamwork that shapes every unforgettable voyage. Delivering the WOW tells the dramatic story of a tenacious culture that surmounted challenges, thrilled customers, and introduced game-changing innovations.

About Richard Fain:

Richard D. Fain is Chair of the Board of the Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL), a position he has held since 1988 when he was also named Chief Executive Officer of the company.

On January 3, 2022, Fain stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Royal Caribbean Group—with Jason Liberty succeeding him as CEO in addition to joining the Board of the Directors. The moves, part of a succession planning process developed by Fain and the Board of Directors, were announced in November 2021. In announcing his decision to step down as CEO, Fain said that with most of the company’s ships operating, a full return to cruising approaching, and Royal Caribbean Group’s brands under the leadership of exceptional CEOs, it was the right time to make the transition.

With a career spanning more than 33 years at the company, Fain’s innovations have helped shape the modern cruise industry. His storied career is defined by the innovations he championed involving every aspect of cruising – from revolutionary ship design to major sustainability efforts to the technologies and ground-breaking features that enriched the onboard experience for millions of guests.

Under his leadership, the Royal Caribbean Group introduced new and distinctive ship categories, with a diverse range of amenities and experiences that transformed the nature of cruising. These transformational ships include Royal Caribbean International's Sovereign, Voyager, and Oasis classes; Celebrity Cruises' Solstice and Edge classes; the highly anticipated Royal Caribbean International Icon class to be introduced in 2023; and Silversea Cruises' "Project Evolution" that will become the industry's first hybrid powered ship when introduced in 2023. Fain, working with Liberty, will continue his involvement in the Group's ship construction program.

Fain joined Royal Caribbean in 1979 as an outside director on the company’s Board of Directors. Prior to Royal Caribbean, he spent 13 years as treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Joint Managing Director of Gotaas-Larsen Shipping Corp., a London-based owner and operator of cargo ships.

Fain is a member of the Global Executive Committee of the Cruise Lines International Association. He also serves on the University of Miami Board of Trustees and the Uhealth Board of Directors. He is former chairman of the University of Miami Board of Trustees, the Miami Business Forum, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the United Way of Miami-Dade.

About Alberto Ibargüen:

Alberto Ibargüen was the president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation from 2005-2024. He is the former publisher of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald. During his tenure, The Miami Herald won three Pulitzer Prizes and El Nuevo Herald won Spain’s Ortega y Gasset Prize for excellence in journalism.

He studied at Wesleyan University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Between college and law school, he served in the Peace Corps in Venezuela’s Amazon Territory and was the Peace Corps programming and training officer in Colombia, based in Bogotá. After law school, he practiced law in Hartford, Connecticut, until he joined The Hartford Courant, then Newsday in New York, before moving to Miami.

He is a former chair of the World Wide Web Foundation, founded by web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee to promote a free and universal web. Over time, he has served on the boards of arts, education, and journalism organizations, including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Wesleyan University, and Smith College. He is trustee emeritus of the Newseum in Washington, where he served as board chair. He also chaired the board of PBS and served on the boards of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and ProPublica. Ibargüen previously served on the boards of American Airlines, PepsiCo, AOL, and Norwegian Cruise Lines and on the Citizen Advisory Committee of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. For his work to protect journalists in Latin America, Ibargüen received a Maria Moors Cabot citation from Columbia University. Wesleyan University, The George Washington University, University of Miami, Mercer University, the University of Nebraska, Arizona State University and Stephens College have awarded him honorary degrees.

Tickets: Free with RSVP; $29 includes a copy of the book