Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ former CEO Harry Sommer said late last year he was hoping to be at the helm of the company for the next 10 years.

In a CLIA-hosted conversation with CEO Bud Darr published in November 2025, Sommer mentioned that he hoped to be in the top job for a decade and also hoped he could make defining moves to set the next CEO up for success.

In the same conversation, he outlined the company’s newbuild program that he said was set for the long-term, with a vision to 2045.

Sommer reflected on advice he’d received from former DuPont CEO Ed Breen while preparing for the top job.

Breen told him that in his years running DuPont, he’d made just five truly important decisions, and urged Sommer not to get so bogged down in day-to-day details that he missed the ones that mattered.

Sommer took the lesson to heart, telling the audience he thought about it every day.

He acknowledged he probably wouldn’t match Breen’s 20-year run.

Sommer said he hoped for a decade at the helm, enough time to look back and say the company had made five defining moves that set the next CEO up for success.

On February 12, 2026, NCLH’s board announced that Sommer had stepped down effective immediately, replaced by board director John Chidsey, best known for stints at Subway and Burger King. Sommer had been in the top job for just under three years.

The board’s announcement stressed “execution,” “operational rigor,” and “performance improvement.”

The company said his departure was not the result of a disagreement on operations, policies, or practices. It offered no further explanation.