Richard D. Fain is chairman and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL). RCL owns and operates Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara, and recently acquired two-thirds ownership of Silversea Cruises. Additionally, RCL is part of joint ventures that operate TUI Cruises and Pullmantur Cruceros. The company’s 63 ships carry more than 6 million guests a year to ports on all seven continents.
Since taking the helm of RCL in 1988, Fain has guided the company’s growth to its current place on the S&P 500, as well as its repeat listing by the Ethisphere Institute as a World’s Most Ethical Company. For the second year running, Barron’s recently named him one of the World’s 30 Best CEOs for his vision and changing the course of the industry.
Fain serves on the University of Miami Board of Trustees and is also a member of the Posse Foundation board and the World Travel and Tourism Council’s executive committee. He has been recognized with the Federal Maritime Commission’s Earth Day Award, the Travel Weekly Lifetime Achievement Award, the South Florida Business Journal Ultimate CEO Award, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and membership in the South Florida Business Hall of Fame. The French government honored Fain as a Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur, while the Finnish government named him a Commander, First Class, of the Order of the Lion.
Fain holds a B.S. degree in economics from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife Colleen have four children and seven grandchildren.
