Christine DeVone Duffy is an American businesswoman. She is the president of Carnival Cruise Line.

Early life and education

Duffy was born and raised in

Northwood, Philadelphia Northwood is bounded on the north by Roosevelt Boulevard, on the northeast by Cheltenham Avenue, on the west by Oakland Cemetery and Greenwood Cemetery, Juniata Park and Frankford Creek, and on the southeast by Frankford Avenue. To the northeast ...

to an entrepreneur father, mother, and sister. She attended H.R. Edmunds Elementary School and Warren G. Harding Middle School. After graduating from

Frankford High School Frankford High School is a public high school in the School District of Philadelphia. It is located at Oxford Avenue and Wakeling Street in the Frankford section of Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Frankford was founded in 1910 as an annex ...

, Duffy attempted to become an airline attendant but was too short. Her dream to become a flight attendant grew from the travelling she did in her youth to visit family in Europe.

Career

After being rejected from her dream of becoming a flight attendant, Duffy accepted a placement as a receptionist at Rosenbluth Travel. Duffy eventually earned a position as a travel agent at McGettigan Travel in Philadelphia. She stayed with the company for 20 years and eventually became president. When the company was bought out by Maritz Travel Co., she became Maritz’s president and chief executive. She was the first female president in Maritz Travel Co. history. While serving as president, she also sat on the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) board of directors and was its chairwoman in 2005 and 2006. She also founded MPI’s Women’s Leadership Initiative and served as its inaugural chairwoman. In 2010, Duffy left Maritz to become president of

Cruise Lines International Association Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is a cruise line trade association. It merged with International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) in 2006, forming an expanded organization incorporating the existing functions of both organizations. The ...

(CLIA). As President, she was named the godmother of

AmaWaterways AmaWaterways is a Calabasas, California based river cruise company that offers cruises in Europe, Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, South America, and Egypt. Its price range is considered "mid-tier" among river cruises. It had a fleet of 26 ships a ...

ship ''the AmaCerto'' in 2012. In 2014, Duffy became the first female president of Carnival Cruise Line, replacing

Gerry Cahill Gerry is both a surname and a masculine or feminine given name. As a given name, it is often a short form (hypocorism) of Gerard, Gerald or Geraldine. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814), fifth US vice pres ...

. Upon accepting the promotion, Duffy visited all Carnival ships, met with employees, and shadowed staff members to understand the cruise line. In 2018, she was honored by the South Florida Business Journal as an Influential Business Women. In June 2022, she was recognized by the International Hospitality Institute as one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Hospitality.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Christine 1962 births Living people Businesspeople from Philadelphia American women business executives Carnival Corporation & plc people 21st-century American women