John Delaney, president of Windstar Cruises, will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming Marine Hotel Association (MHA) conference and trade show in Naples, Florida, March 31-April 2.
Delaney will take the stage during the conference’s Monday breakfast on the morning of April 1, which will then be followed by the opening of the MHA’s 34th annual event.
The annual event will also feature a new Culinary Showcase that the MHA recently announced, featuring some of the top chefs in the cruise industry.
Delaney was named Windstar president by parent company Xanterra Parks & Resorts in July 2016.
Since then, the company has been on a tear in the small-ship world, reinventing deployment, expanding sourcing, moving bookings further out and now moving into bigger plans, with the news that Windstar will stretch its trio of Star-class ships.
Starting later this year, each Star-class vessel will get a new midsection with 50 new staterooms, part of a $250 million investment by Windstar.
Delaney was formerly senior vice president of Global Marketing and Sales for Seabourn Cruise Line (a Carnival Corporation brand), from 2011 through 2016. Prior to that, he held a number of positions at Holland America Line, including vice president of revenue marketing, director of special projects at corporate audit services and manager of management advisory services.
Before working for Carnival Corporation, Delaney spent six years at The Walt Disney Company starting as a financial analyst in food operations at The Disneyland Resort and working his way up and through various departments including senior business planner for theme park operations revenue and manager of marketing finance. After a brief stint with Gateway Business, he returned to The Walt Disney Company at Disneyland Resort culminating as director, financial planning and analysis.
Delaney earned his BS in Business Administration and Accounting from California State University in Long Beach, California, and resides in Seattle, Washington. He is a member of the board of directors of the Pike Place Market Foundation and past vice-chairman of the Seattle Symphony board of directors.
