Royal Caribbean announced today that chief financial officer Brian Rice will retire soon and the company will begin transitioning his duties to Jason Liberty. Rice will officially retire in the spring of 2014 and in the meanwhile, Liberty will begin taking over to make the transition process seamless.
Rice will continue to serve as Vice Chairman until his retirement, overseeing Royal Caribbean’s finance, supply chain, strategy and information technology functions. Rice has been with Royal Caribbean for more than 20 years, serving as CFO since 2006 and Vice Chairman since 2012.
Royal Caribbean named Jason Liberty its new CFO, effective immediately, and he will continue to report to Rice.
Liberty joined Royal Caribbean in 2005 and most recently served as Senior Vice President, Strategy and Finance, overseeing the company’s Corporate and Strategic Planning, Treasury, Investor Relations and Internal Audit functions. Before joining Royal Caribbean, Liberty was a senior manager at the accounting firm KPMG.
“Over the past 24 years, I’ve had the very good fortune to work for an outstanding company in a truly exciting industry,” said Rice. “I am proud to have played a part in its success, and I feel comfortable that I will be leaving the company in excellent shape.”
“Brian has been a key figure in the development of Royal Caribbean, and an important leader who has made significant contributions to the entire cruise industry,” said Richard D. Fain, Chairman of Royal Caribbean Cruises.
