American Queen Voyages (AQV) has announced the appointment of industry veteran Cynthia “Cindy” D’Aoust as its new president. D’Aoust brings close to 40 years of travel and hospitality industry experience to the new role. She has previously served as the president of hospitality for Cape Resorts Management Company and global president and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA.) She will commence the role beginning Monday, October 3, 2022.
“Hornblower Group is committed to the expansion of American Queen Voyages, as evidenced by the substantial investments in vessels, company rebrand, talent and training, technology, a new Fort Lauderdale headquarters, in the heart of the cruise industry epicenter,” said Kevin Rabbitt, chief executive officer, Hornblower Group. “We are thrilled to welcome Cindy to American Queen Voyages as our new president, bringing her exceptional background in successfully leading travel associations and hospitality brands through periods of growth. I am confident that through Cindy’s deep knowledge of the industry, expertise in elevating brands coupled with her considerable talent, leadership skills, and respected reputation, she will greatly contribute to the future success of American Queen Voyages.”
As president, D’Aoust will be responsible for developing and implementing AQV’s overall business strategy: providing guidance to the leadership team to create growth, driving innovation, performance and guest satisfaction. D’Aoust will assume the role of president from current acting president, David Giersdorf. Over the course of the past four months, Giersdorf has brought his deep passion and knowledge of the overnight cruise industry and has lent tremendous support in working collectively with the AQV leadership team to ensure the company is well positioned for the future.
D’Aoust has over 20 years of experience as a high-performing executive within the corporate travel and hospitality industry. She brings a deep knowledge of the travel and hospitality industry through her leadership of an award-winning overnight hospitality business and a respected reputation within the travel and trade industry. D’Aoust previously served as the president of hospitality for Cape Resorts Management Company, a portfolio of classic American destination properties in Cape May, NJ and The Hamptons, NY.
Prior to Cape Resorts, D’Aoust served as the global president and CEO of CLIA, the world’s largest cruise industry association, providing a unified voice and leading authority of the global cruise community in defining industry policies and practices that foster a safe, secure, healthy and sustainable environment for the millions of passengers who cruise annually. During her four years with CLIA, D’Aoust and her team increased travel agent membership by over 400 percent through development of educational programs, engagement and its events portfolio. D’Aoust also served in a variety of board affiliations and memberships across the global travel landscape.
A mom of four and grandmother of three, she currently resides in Cape May, NJ and will be relocating to South Florida.
Parent company Hornblower Group, backed by Crestview Partners, continues to remain committed towards AQV and the expansion of its overnight division globally. To support the future growth of the organization, AQV will join Hornblower’s newly created overnight division. Headed up by Chris Tallent, chief executive officer of Journey Beyond, Australia’s leading experiential travel company, this division will further benefit AQV by having it join the iconic overnight rail and lodging brands of Journey Beyond and aligning them with AQV to strengthen its global go-to-market strategy, uniting Hornblower’s portfolio to trade partners and further reinforcing the connectivity and alignment between all of Hornblower’s brands.
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