Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has announced that Jan Swartz, executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer service for Princess Cruises and Cunard Line, will take the helm of the association’s marketing committee effective January 1, 2011. She succeeds Richard Sasso, president and CEO of MSC Cruises USA, in a normal rotation of responsibilities. Swartz has previously served as a member of the marketing committee.

“Raising awareness of cruising and motivating consumers to buy is essential to the success of this industry. We have been extremely fortunate to have the leadership of Rick Sasso as chair of the CLIA’s marketing committee for the last two years, and Jan’s insight, creativity and proven track record of success will be equally valuable assets as we move forward in 2011,” said Howard Frank, vice chairman of the board and chief operating officer of Carnival Corporation & plc, and chairman of CLIA’s executive committee.

“I am delighted and honored to have the privilege of serving as marketing committee chair for CLIA. All the member lines of CLIA have demonstrated extraordinary skill in navigating the turbulent waters we’ve just come through and I look forward to working with all of them to ensure that the cruise industry continues on its path of growth and profitability,” Swartz said.

As executive vice president at Princess Cruises, Swartz heads sales, marketing and customer service divisions of the third largest cruise line in the world. She holds a similar role for sister brand Cunard Line in North America.

Swartz was appointed to her current role in January 2009, having previously served as senior vice president of customer service and sales for both brands since 2004. She has worked with Princess since 1997, first as an outside management consultant. In 2001 she was appointed the company’s vice president of strategy and business development, and worked on the P&O Princess/Carnival corporate acquisition.

Her initial experience with Princess was as a management consultant with the prestigious Bain & Company, where for five years she worked with leading consumer and service companies on growth strategies. While at Bain, she led a team to evaluate and enhance Princess’ call center programs and distribution initiatives prior to Princess’ dramatic expansion. 

Directly prior to joining Princess, Swartz served as chief executive officer of MXG Media, an interactive entertainment company, where she oversaw online, catalog, magazine and television ventures. 

Swartz holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and English from the University of Virginia.  She currently serves on the marketing committee of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).  

She and her husband live in the Los Angeles area with their two children.