CLIA Leadership

Kelly Craighead

President & CEO

Kelly Craighead is the president and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), representing a vast community of ocean-going cruise lines, as well as river cruise marketing affiliates, a highly trained and certified travel agent community, and cruise industry partners ranging from ports and destinations to ship builders, developers and other maritime business services.

In her capacity as President and CEO of CLIA, Kelly is responsible for the development and execution of the organization’s advocacy initiatives, which are designed to support the broad international business coalition that comprises the global cruise industry. Additionally, Kelly has oversight over CLIA’s global leadership teams across the association’s five operating regions, including North America, Europe, Australasia, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Under her leadership, CLIA and its members are paving the way in responsible tourism practices, significantly increasing the industry’s collective investment in research, development, and education, as well as executing advocacy and promotional efforts that add and create value for the cruise community and its partners.

Kelly joined CLIA in January 2019, bringing with her over 20 years of executive leadership experience from both the public and private sectors, including most recently as the first-ever Deputy Assistant Secretary for Travel and Tourism at the United States Department of Commerce. During her time with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Kelly acted as the senior government representative for travel and tourism matters on behalf of the United States. In addition to coordinating federal government tourism policies and programs, Kelly led initiatives that generated more than $250 billion USD annually from international visitors to the United States. She also represented the United States as the key point of contact for foreign tourism ministers regarding critical travel and tourism policy matters.

Earlier in her career, Kelly held leadership positions in the White House and traveled extensively within the United States and abroad supporting official government business and developing a wide network of international partners in government, media and business.

Prior to her appointment as President and CEO of CLIA, Kelly founded Vertimas Consulting, where she supported a variety of private sector clients, including the World Travel and Tourism Council, to provide counsel and executive leadership support, including strategic planning and business development.

Kelly is a passionate and active member of the travel and tourism community. In 2017, she was named “Outstanding Woman in Travel and Tourism Leadership” by Women in Travel and Tourism Industries (WITTI).

Josh Good

Senior Vice President, Global Finance and Operations

In his role as senior vice president, global finance and operations, Josh Good is responsible for all financial planning, strategy, reporting and daily operations for CLIA and manages the organization's finance team across North America, Europe, Brazil and Australasia. Prior to joining CLIA, Josh was with Marriott International where he provided financial expertise and insight for the organization's sales, marketing, brand management, innovation, human resources, and global operations teams. Josh started his career in public accounting, and over the course of his career has supported various clients in a range of sectors, including government, for profit and non-profit.

Andy Harmer

Senior Vice President, Membership & National Director, United Kingdom & Ireland

Andy Harmer oversees marketing and membership for the international travel trade and river cruise marketing affiliate programs, and also serves as the National Director for the United Kingdom and Ireland. During his more than 10 years with CLIA, Andy has been responsible for the creation and implementation of CLIA’s travel agent program in the United Kingdom & Ireland,which offers an array of professional development opportunities, online and offline resources and material, training seminars and conferences for travel agents and agencies that support the cruise industry. In 2016, his role was expanded to include the introduction of the program across Europe. In 2020, he began additional oversight for the River Cruise Marketing Affiliate Program.

Lawrence Kaye

General Counsel

Lawrence “Larry” Kaye serves as general counsel for CLIA and is the Senior Partner of Kaye, Rose & Partners, LLP, the firm he co-founded in 1992. An international and domestic maritime specialist, Larry has four decades of wide-ranging litigation, legislative, regulatory and transactional expertise. He interacts with general counsels and other senior management of major shipping lines and related companies, routinely providing advice on complex statutory and regulatory regimes. These have included federal and state laws governing security, safety, the environment, public health, commercial practices, liability, civil rights and discrimination, employment, gambling, licensing, and international conventions on all aspects of maritime commerce.

Larry has handled or supervised legal matters throughout the United States and is responsible for more than two dozen precedent-setting published court decisions. He was a delegate to the International Maritime Organization and drafted key provisions of the Athens Convention on the Carriage of Passengers and Their Luggage by Sea. He also authored the International Cruise Passenger Bill of Rights adopted by every CLIA ocean-going Cruise Line Member worldwide, has drafted industry legislation passed by the U.S. Congress and California Legislature, and frequently testifies as a maritime legal expert before legislative bodies.

Prior to co-founding Kaye, Rose & Partners, Larry was a partner and the Maritime Department Chair at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman (1990-1992) and a partner and associate with Lillick & McHose (1981-1990). He graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law, cum laude, and was admitted to the California Bar in 1979. Among his many honors, he holds the highest peer review rating of “preeminent” for professional excellence and ethical standards issued by Martindale-Hubbell, the leading publication of lawyer ratings in the United States and Canada. He was also voted among the Top Lawyers in California.

Bo Larsen

Senior Advisor

As Senior Advisor to CLIA, Bo helps identify and evaluate new enterprise strategies designed to maximize the collective impact of the cruise community on the industry’s license to operate responsibly. Prior to being named a senior advisor in October 2020, Bo led CLIA’s Executive Partner program whose members range from ports and destinations to ship builders, developers and leading maritime organizations that provide critical business services and products to the cruise industry. Bo joined CLIA in 2014 as Director of Port Engagement and Business Development. Prior to joining CLIA, he held a variety of leadership positions in travel marketing and promotion, including Director of Cruise Copenhagen Network, a destination network promoting the concept of cruising from Copenhagen and to other ports in Denmark; Director of Cruise Baltic, a network of the major cruise destinations in the Baltic Sea Region; and Director of Copenhagen/Øresund, a joint tourism project initiated by all the major stakeholders within tourism in the Øresund region. Bo began his career in travel and tourism with Scandinavian Airlines.

Mike McGarry

Senior Vice President of Global Government Affairs and Secretariat for North America

Mike McGarry oversees government relations and serves as the Secretariat for North America. In addition, he is the Executive Director of the CLIA Political Action Committee (PAC).

Prior to joining CLIA, Mike served as a government relations and public affairs leader for industry- leading brands, including Royal Dutch Shell plc, Visa Inc., Harrah’s Entertainment, MasterCard Incorporated, KPMG, and Marsh &McLennan. At Royal Dutch Shell, Mike led Group external affairs in the U.S. and was later based in London where he was head of Global External Affairs for Shell Chemicals Companies. Earlier in his career, Mike was Deputy Staff Director and Parliamentarian for the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee during consideration of historic legislation and investigative hearings that received international media attention.

Anne Madison

Senior Vice President, Global Marketing & Strategic Communications

Anne Madison oversees global marketing and strategic communications, including digital marketing, branding, crisis communications, research and analytics for CLIA and also supports strategy and business planning. Over the course of her career, Anne has led a number of areas, including strategic planning, business development, B2B and B2C marketing, research, media relations, public affairs, issues management, crisis communications, investor relations, human resources, information technology, and events. Prior to her work with CLIA, Anne was chief strategy and communications officer for Brand USA, the nation’s destination marketing organization for the United States where she established the strategic foundation on which Brand USA continues to successfully pursue its mission. She also developed award-winning communications strategies to build strong and positive engagement with internal and external stakeholders worldwide. Earlier in her career, she held similar roles with Choice Hotels, Enterprise Community Investment, and The Ryland Group (now Lennar Homes).

Brian Salerno

Senior Vice President, Global Maritime Policy

Brian Salerno leads CLIA's work to coordinate industry positions on technical, regulatory and policy matters related to cruise ship safety, security and environmental stewardship.

Prior to joining CLIA, Brian served 36 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, retiring in 2012 at the rank of Vice Admiral. During his career with the Coast Guard, he worked in a variety of operational missions, with particular focus on maritime safety. He is the recipient of numerous military awards.

Upon retirement from the Coast Guard, Brian began working as a marine consultant. He served as the U.S. Liaison for BIMCO, an international ship owner’s association headquartered in Copenhagen. He also served on the Panama Canal Navigation Safety Advisory Board. In 2013, he was appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to lead the recently established Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) focused on offshore oil exploration and production, and implementing the lessons learned from the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill. He stepped down in January 2017 and resumed work as a maritime consultant. He also serves as Vice President of the U.S. Friends of World Maritime University.

Brian received his Master's degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College and Master's in Administrative Science (Management) from Johns Hopkins University. He also has a diploma from the U.S. Naval War College and received his Bachelor's degree from Stonehill College.

Donald Brown

Vice President, Global Maritime Policy

Donald Brown develops, presents, negotiates, and implements global industry positions on legislative, regulatory, and policy matters involving security, environmental stewardship and health. In addition, he leads delegations to the International Maritime Organization where he represents the global cruise industry during international treaty negotiations and other matters. He is also the designated Secretary to the CLIA Global Committees on Maritime Security Matters and Marine Environment Protection Matters.

Prior to joining CLIA, he served in the U.S. Coast Guard at the rank of Commander. His most recent assignment was to the Office of Maritime International Law where he provided agency-wide legal counsel to senior officials and federal interagency leaders on transnational maritime threats, with specific expertise in facilitating others to reach agency, national, and international consensus on policy matters. Previous duty assignments include U.S. Northern Command and NORAD, speechwriter and special assistant to the Coast Guard Commandant, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida, Rescue Coordination Center Miami and four years of at-sea experience aboard Coast Guard Cutters ESCANABA (1st Lieutenant) and VASHON (Executive Officer). Donald is a 1993 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Government. In 2003 he graduated Cum Laude from the University of Miami School of Law where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Inter-American Law Review. He has also served as a Visiting Professor of Law at the U.S. Naval Academy for Piracy, Maritime Threats, and the Law of the Sea.

Peter Plourd

Vice President, Global Information Technology

Peter Plourd is responsible for CLIA’s worldwide technology infrastructure. He coordinates CLIA’s technology requirements across North American, Europe, Brazil and Australasia.

Prior to joining CLIA, Peter was the Senior Director of Information Technology at AcademyHealth in DC. AcademyHealth focuses on producing evidence to facilitate better decision making in healthcare. He has been working in the non-profit sector for almost 20 years and prior to that he worked at a biotechnology firm in Baltimore and was with NASA for almost 10 years.

Christian Savelli

Vice President, Global Research and Business Analytics

Christian Savelli leads CLIA’s internal research department and oversees business analytics. He facilitates annual research planning and prioritization process, manages the CLIA Research Committee, advises stakeholders on research thinking and priorities and assists the association with business modeling, as well as developing business intelligence reporting across all aspects of the business. Prior to joining CLIA, Christian was with Meeting Professionals International (MPI), where he conducted analysis and research on demographics and products to enhance the value provided to MPI members. Prior to joining MPI, Christian was Director of Business Intelligence for Maxvantage and Maritz Travel. For more than 12 years, he provided business intelligence support across strategic meetings management accounts and was closely involved with designing cross account benchmarking analysis, aggregate reporting, market trend analysis, and predictive modeling. Christian also spent ten years in the hotel industry where he developed an expertise in yield management.

Carrie Watson

Vice President, Global Human Resources

Carrie has over 20 years of experience in consulting, talent management, and leadership development experience engineering strategic roadmaps to ignite transformative change and boost business performance. Since joining CLIA, Carrie has been working to align organizational design and workforce planning to advance initiatives and foster cohesive, productive environments-as she works alongside internal stakeholders to establish human capital analytical platforms that serve as instruments of growth.

Jennifer Williams

Vice President, Global Maritime Policy

Jennifer Williams develops, presents, negotiates, and implements global industry positions on legislative, regulatory, and policy matters involving ship design, operation and engineering. She leads delegations to the International Maritime Organization where she represents the global cruise industry during international treaty negotiations and other matters. In addition, she is the designated Secretary of the CLIA Global Committee on Maritime Safety Matters as well as the Cruise Ship Safety Forum and its Steering Committee. Jennifer has diverse expertise in maritime safety, security and marine environmental protection. She retired from the U.S. Coast Guard following nearly 30 years of service, having held a variety of operational and staff positions which included Sector Commander Los Angeles/Long Beach and Captain of the Port and Director of Inspections and Compliance in Washington DC, where she oversaw, developed and maintained regulatory policy, standards, and program alignment for all prevention activities associated with the safe operation of vessels and facilities. She managed policy development for the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, recreational boating safety, foreign and domestic commercial vessel compliance inspections, ports and facilities safety and security, vessel documentation, and marine casualty investigation.

Joel Katz

Managing Director, Australasia

Joel Katz has 25 years of international experience in the cruise and hotel industries. In his role as Managing Director of CLIA Australasia, Joel heads the Sydney-based team responsible for the promotion and development of the cruise industry in the region through trade relations, industry training, and advocacy activities on behalf of the cruise line members.

Prior to joining CLIA in January 2016, Joel was executive vice president of Grand Circle Cruise Line in the United Kingdom from 2014 to 2016. Prior to his leadership role with Grand Circle, he spent 10 years with Orion Expeditions (acquired by Lindblad Expeditions in 2013) where he was chief operating officer. Joel earned his Bachelor’s of Business Science from the University of Cape Town and his post graduate diploma in Hotel & Catering Management from The Manchester Metropolitan University.

LinJiali Wong

Regional Manager, Asia

Jiali Wong is responsible for representing CLIA in Asia with a focus on increasing industry engagement and membership in the region and supporting the continued growth of cruise. This includes responsibilities for event development and growing CLIA’s Executive Partner program in the region, as well as furthering the association’s efforts in the areas of advocacy, education and promotion on behalf of the cruise industry.

Jiali has over 10 years of cross-functional experiences in project management, strategy and business development in the tourism sector. Prior to joining CLIA in Asia, she headed the cruise business development team at the Singapore Tourism Board where she forged strong interest and networks in the cruise industry. In her previous roles, she has handled business development and events management in sectors such as business travel, meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions and tourism development.

Marco Ferraz

Executive President, CLIA Abremar Brasil

Marco Ferraz serves as Executive President of CLIA Abremar Brasil. Marco started working with tourism in the 1980s, at Monark Tourism. Before assuming the presidency of CLIA Abremar Brasil, he acted as president of Braztoa (Brazilian Association of Tour Operators) for four years. Under his leadership, Braztoa began a partnership with World Travel Market Latin America, Abav Expo, and started a close relationship with UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) and WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council) to include Brazil as a priority destination as well as a source for international travelers.

Tom Boardley

Senior Advisor, Europe

Tom Boardley is a Senior Advisor for CLIA. Tom is also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mission to Seafarers, and a member of the UK Department for Transport’s Maritime 2050 Expert Panel. Previously, Tom was the President of the UK Chamber of Shipping (2015/2016) and served as Chairman of IACS (International Association of Classification Societies) for the 2012/2013 year. He is an engineering graduate of Oxford University and is a fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects.

Ukko Metsola

Director General, Europe

Ukko Metsola joined CLIA on 1 September as Director General for Europe following his role as Vice President for Government Relations for Royal Caribbean Group (RCG) in Europe and Asia-Pacific where he was responsible primarily for the development, planning and execution of RCG’s policies and objectives involving legislative and regulatory matters. Ukko is a Finnish citizen who started his political career as Senior Adviser in the Finnish Parliament and then in the Prime Minister’s Office (Helsinki). He is a graduate from the University of Helsinki and from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he studied with a Fulbright scholarship.

Julie Green

Vice President, Strategic Communications, Europe

Julie Green joined CLIA in Europe in January 2020 as Vice President of Strategic Communications. Julie is an expert communicator with a strong background and combined experience in corporate PR and Public Policy. Previously, Julie headed up global communications for the infrastructure business at the engineering firm Bechtel, where she helped to transform the company’s approach to reputation management. During her time at Bechtel, she introduced and ran strategic communications and thought leadership programs across multiple markets, including central and eastern Europe, and the Middle East. With a proven track record of results-oriented

Helge Grammerstorf

National Director, Germany

Helge Grammerstorf serves as National Director, Germany, providing support to CLIA through his role as Managing Director of SeaConsult HAM GmbH, a consulting and research firm specializing in international cruise business he founded in 1997 in Hamburg. Helge has spent his entire career in the maritime sector, starting his career as an ordinary seaman and assistant officer after completing his studies. He received his final degree as Captain and Certified Commercial Engineer and sailed onboard several cargo and passenger vessels in international services. In addition, prior to founding SeaConsult, Helge was a Managing Director of various German shipping and travel companies.

Maria Deligianni

National Director, Eastern Mediterranean

Maria Deligianni is National Director, Eastern Mediterranean based in Athens, Greece. She joined CLIA in March 2018 and is responsible for government and public affairs issues in the region. Maria has been involved in the shipping industry since 2011. Before joining CLIA, she worked for the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) in Brussels as a Senior Advocacy and Policy Advisor on maritime safety, environmental and offshore shipping issues. Previously she spent time at the European Commission’s Director General Mobility and Transport Directorate in Brussels as well as SQE Marine Group and PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC Greece) in Piraeus and Athens. She holds an executive Master in Maritime Science (MSc) degree from the University of Ghent in Belgium as well as an MSc degree in International and European Studies from the University of Piraeus and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Athens.

Francesco Galietti

National Director, Italy

Francesco Galietti is National Director, Italy. Francesco is a policy expert, an author and a commentator in both the international print and broadcast media. His professional track record before joining CLIA includes three years as “Consigliere” at the Italian Ministry of Finance and advisory assignments with other Italian public institutions (Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Government task force on sovereign wealth funds).

Tor Christian Sletner

National Director, Scandinavia

Tor Christian Sletner is National Director, Scandinavia. Tor Christian Sletner has his primary education from the Royal Norwegian Navy; at the Coastal Artillery School of Appeal, the Naval Academy's Operative Line and the Navy's Staff School. In addition, he holds a degree in Economics from the University of Oslo and an MBA in Strategic Management from the Norwegian School of Economics. Following 15 years of service in the Navy, he began his civil career at Vestfold University College, and later he became Deputy Director of the Norwegian Coastal Administration. Before joining CLIA he worked at the Norwegian Shipowners' Association since 2010. Christian has been a board member in the Norwegian NOx fund, permanent representative of the Norwegian delegation to IMO and over the years has joined and worked on committees in both the International Chamber of Shipping and the European Community Shipowners' Associations.

Alfredo Serrano

National Director, Spain

Alfredo Serrano is National Director, Spain. Alfredo Serrano leads public affairs and strategic engagement with ministries, regional and local administrations and national stakeholders, as well as the direct relationship with the CLIA partners and members in Spain. Alfredo held the position of Managing Director at the Spanish cruise line Iberojet Cruceros, a division of the Iberostar Group. In 2007 Carnival Corporation & PLC acquired Iberojet and rebranded it to Iberocruceros, where Alfredo remained as the Managing Director. He was responsible for launching the company as a key player in the Spanish travel market by diversifying its customer base and establishing a presence in South America. Alfredo obtained the degree of Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and holds an MBA from INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France).

Caroline Johnson

Senior Vice President, Travel Trade Membership

Caroline Johnson is the Senior Vice President, North American Travel Trade Membership. She oversees the Membership, Professional Development, Marketing, Events and Sales teams. Caroline is responsible for the membership value proposition and its successful delivery directed towards CLIA's Travel Agency and Agent Members. Her extensive experience in association and corporate leadership roles has helped her drive significant growth and value in the travel trade program. Prior to joining CLIA, Caroline was Senior Director, Marketing and Communications, at Meeting Professionals International, where she managed a department of 14 staff and built a unified brand by integrating consistent messages across all platforms, including a re-imagined member magazine and a robust social media strategy.

Brian Beall

Vice President, Government Affairs

Brian Beall is Vice President of Government Affairs at CLIA. In this role, Brian creates and leads strategic programs to achieve desired outcomes for legislative policy priorities at the state and federal levels, advancing CLIA members’ ability to operate sustainably and grow in the North American market. He also provides leadership support for CLIA’s global government affairs priorities. Brian has many years of experience in travel and tourism policy. He was the Deputy Director for Policy in the National Travel and Tourism Office, part of the International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He has led and represented U.S. travel and tourism policy with foreign governments, private sector stakeholders, and federal agency partners. Brian also worked on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Fellow in the U.S. Senate focused specifically on travel and tourism policy issues.

Charles Sylvia ECC

Vice President, Industry and Trade Relations

Charles Sylvia has 24 years’ experience in cruise marketing and sales, starting as a front- line agent at a brick-and-mortar travel agency near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. After a decade successfully selling group cruises on the leisure side of the business, Charles moved to the corporate side, producing meetings, incentives, conferences and events at sea for Access TCA, a Boston-based exhibit and corporate events agency. Charles built Access TCA’s “At Sea” division from the ground up. In addition to being a lifelong cruise enthusiast, Charles is also interested in start-ups, serving as an advisor to graduate students in Brown University’s Program in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship (PRIME). In his role at CLIA, Charles champions the interests of CLIA’s North American trade membership, comprised of more than 32,700 travel agency owners and agents.

Bari Golin-Blaugrund

Vice President, Strategic Communications and Public Affairs

Bari Golin-Blaugrund is responsible for helping to expand and protect the public profile of the cruise industry and its license to operate by monitoring communications and public affairs issues and guiding proactive and strategic response efforts. Bari joined CLIA in October 2019 as the senior director of strategic communications and was promoted to her current position in July 2020. Prior to joining CLIA, Bari served as a Director at Mercury, a national public affairs firm, where she managed the development and deployment of cross-functional advocacy and reputational campaigns intended to persuade public opinion and elevate the positive message of her clients. She has extensive experience overseeing the successful execution of communications campaigns involving multiple stakeholders, including policymakers, community leaders, members of the media, and beyond. Having previously worked in the travel and tourism industry, Bari gained in-house communications and marketing experience as the marketing and communications manager for a travel start-up in Tel Aviv, where she managed all external communications platforms and products on behalf of the young company. She has also spent time on Capitol Hill and with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.