Hapag-Lloyd Cruises appoints new ceo

Karl J. Pojer, ceo of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises

Karl J. Pojer has been appointed the new ceo of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, the German luxury and expedition cruise operator and a wholly-owned subsidiary of TUI AG.

With immediate effect, 58-year old Pojer is taking charge of the cruise line's business development, operations, marketing, sales and distribution, product management, tourism as well as corporate communications.

Dr Wolfgang Flägel, who took over the management of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises when long standing md Sebastian Ahrens left last June, remains in charge of finances, HR and IT.

The new ceo has been working with TUI since 1996, initially as md of wholly-owned subsidiary Robinson Club GmbH. In 2003, he took charge of the TUI Hotels & Resorts division, which manages the World of TUI hotel subsidiaries throughout the world. Currently with 248 hotels and 157,000 beds, TUI Hotels & Resorts is the biggest holiday hotelier in Europe. Prior to joining TUI, Pojer worked for various hotel companies including Kempinski Hotels, Sheraton Hotels as well as Pestana Hotels, Resorts & Casinos.

‘Karl J. Pojer is one of the most experienced operations experts in the vacation industry. He will continue the reorientation which has already started at Hapag-Lloyd Cruises,’ commented Friedrich Joussen, ceo of TUI AG.

Pojer described Hapag-Lloyd Cruises as ‘a strong brand full of tradition that we want to further develop in a careful way but in keeping with the times’. The brand currently charters five ships: Bremen, Columbus 2, Europa, Europa 2 and Hanseatic. Columbus 2 (ex Insignia) will be returned to Oceania Cruises next year.