Celestyal Cruises has announced that Kyriakos Anastassiadis will conclude his term as CEO of the company on June 30. Effective July 1, Chris Theophilides will take the helm of the cruise line as its new CEO.
The CEO transition comes as the cruise line is expanding its focus in Europe, looking to extend its season in the Aegean and eventually sail year-round in the Mediterranean. To accommodate the new focus, the cruise line is dropping its Cuba cruises as of 2019 due to rising demand in the Aegean. That year will also see the line return to Turkey with its first calls in Istanbul since the failed coup in 2016, as well as new “3 Continents” cruises taking in destinations in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Anastassiadis contributed to the company’s strategic repositioning, as well as to the development and strengthening of the Celestyal Cruises brand internationally, the cruise line said, and he also served as chair of CLIA Europe.
Theophilides has been working in the cruise industry since 2006 and has held the position of vice president of strategy and business development of Celestyal Cruises since October 2014. Most recently, he was appointed chief operating officer (COO) of the company in January 2017, supporting the CEO in a wide range of cross-functional activities.
Theophilides graduated from Rutgers University in 1995, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He continued his studies at the same institution to attain a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) in 1997. From 1998 to 2006, he served as senior manager, corporate finance at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he qualified as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
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