Edie Rodriguez is the new president for the Americas and special advisor to Ponant, the French luxury expedition cruise company. She will report directly to the company's headquarters in Marseille. Rodriguez will be based in Florida, traveling frequently to promote the company, particularly to travel agents, but also to consumers.
“This is an opportunity to make a difference. My main mission is to ensure the brand becomes better known in the US market,” he stated. “Nobody has boats like these,” he said of Ponant’s sleek vessels. “It’s like having a Ferrari or a Lamborghini on the water. They’re the sexiest boats on the seas.”
Ponant offers cruises worldwide, including South Africa, the Northern Passage, Antarctica, Cuba, and Italy, on ships with fewer than 300 passengers that can visit the most exclusive ports. The ships they are currently building are even smaller, with fewer than 200 passengers each.
With Rodriguez's appointment, Navin Sawhney, CEO for the Americas, will continue to lead the 22-person team in the New York offices. He is responsible for profit and loss, strategy planning, and implementation.
“Over the past few years, Ponant has been building a strong strategy for the American market and has the expertise to achieve its goals. Given our strong ambitions and the real potential of this market, I am pleased to see our team strengthened with the arrival of Edie Rodriguez,” said Sawhney.
“With two great and experienced cruise industry experts like Navin and Edie on our team, I am convinced that Ponant in the US will achieve all its objectives in terms of market share,” said CEO Jean Emmanuel Sauvée. “Ponant should not only be known as the French luxury expedition cruise line, but for what we truly are: the world leaders in luxury expeditions and the best cultural cruise line with a distinctive French touch.”
Just as river cruises in Europe were virtually unknown until they began to emerge as one of the fastest-growing tourism categories in recent years, Rodriguez believes that luxury expedition yacht cruises are on track for great success, with more than 20 units on order, four of which will be from Ponant, two in 2018 and another two in 2019.
Thanks to being part of the Artemis group, the French holding company of the billionaire Pinault family, which includes brands such as Gucci, Chateau Latour, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent, the Christie's auction house and much more, Ponant has great potential to achieve synergies and cross-branding.
This year the company will offer a wine-themed cruise in collaboration with Chateau Latour and 3 Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, as well as a cruise featuring Christie's art auctions.
Rodriguez is eager to develop more synergies. During his time at Cunard, he forged alliances with Veuve Clicquot for the Queen Mary 2. Coincidentally, Veuve, which is not part of the Artemis group, already has an agreement with Ponant.
A road show to raise awareness of the brand will be announced soon.
