Four Seasons Yachts bolsters shoreside talent with seven new hires

They are James Cabello, head of port operations & logistics; Jenny Lopez, VP finance - controller and treasurer; Scott Appleby, director of commercial platforms; Joseph Conley, director of global technology; Rasheed 'RJ' Romain, digital project/product manager; Deborah Suarez, senior manager, special projects; and Hector Fajardo, manager, planning & integration.

Building an extraordinary team

Larry Pimentel, CEO of Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings, owner/joint operator of Four Seasons Yachts, personally interviews each candidate at length in his quest to build an extraordinary team for a concept he believes is 'totally different ... in a category of one.

'I love the energy of the group,' Pimentel said, adding that as a longtime CEO, he's driven by the love of developing people and pledged Four Seasons Yachts will provide 'the best training, encouragement and empowerment to build a culture of belonging.'

James Cabello

As head of port operations and logistics, Cabello reports to Tim Littley, VP strategic planning & port operations. Pimentel called them 'Eveready batteries, an awesome one-two combination.'

Cabello oversees port operations, cruise terminal and yacht marina experience and embarkation/disembarkation.

He brings nearly 30 years of cruise industry experience, most recently overseeing deployment for the Mystic Cruises fleet and its affiliates. He also was responsible for port operations, shore excursions and co-developing the expedition program as well as the onboard product, including activities and entertainment. During his career, he's placed ships in more than 650 ports worldwide.

Earlier, Cabello was one of SeaDream Yacht Club's original team and, ultimately, VP deployment, destinations, land programs and charter operations. Before that he traveled the globe as cruise director and/or entertainer for Seabourn, Sea Goddess, Holland America Line, Costa, Sun Line/Royal Olympic and American Hawaii Cruises.

Jenny Lopez

As VP finance - controller and treasurer, Lopez reports to CFO Don Mason, who Pimentel said is 'elated' to have her. She's responsible for leading accounting and corporate finance, offering expert strategic and financial guidance, and overseeing financial operations.

Lopez brings more than 17 years of professional experience as a certified public accountant, most recently as executive director of payroll, finance and accounting at the University of Miami. Earlier, at Royal Caribbean Group, she held roles in operations accounting and Celebrity Cruises' hotel finance and administration.

Lopez began her career at EY in client advisory services.

Cutting-edge technology

Since Four Seasons Yachts needs to have cutting-edge technology, Pimentel said CIO John Polimenakos' group now numbers seven, a quarter of the company's team.

Most recently he's tapped Scott Appleby, Joseph Conley and Rashid 'RJ' Romain, who Pimentel called 'super-bright and 'exceedingly talented' individuals with wide-ranging expertise.

Scott Appleby

As director of commercial platforms, Appleby will lead the architecture and development of all commercial platforms for Four Seasons Yachts from the ground up. 

Appleby brings more than two decades of experience in cruise reservations systems, sales and marketing automations platforms, digital ecosystems and revenue management business intelligence. In his most recent role as the head of program management for the Americas at IBS Software, he was responsible for orchestrating the implementation of travel industry solutions.

Before IBS, he championed the digital evolution and enterprise program management of all commercial platforms at Crystal Cruises for six years, orchestrating the migration to a new reservations platform and the introduction of digital automation to the marketing, sales and direct business units.

Earlier, Appleby's cruise reservations systems expertise benefited Viking, Prestige Cruise Holdings, Seabourn and Cunard.

Joseph Conley

As director of global technology, Conley drives enterprise architecture, IT operations and cyber security.

He has nearly two decades in technology experience from luxury cruise lines and most recently served as chief technology officer/chief information security officer at Starboard Cruise Services, responsible for developing and implementing a new IT strategy that focused on improving the guest experience. This included the implementation of AR/VR displays and emerging technologies to optimize operations. 

Before Starboard, Conley fostered shoreside and shipboard technology at Crystal Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Seabourn, where he led projects to modernize their ships for a comprehensive digital guest experience. He also was involved with eight newbuilds.

Rasheed 'RJ' Romain

Romain serves as digital project/product manager, responsible for project managing and leveraging a team of digital partners and peers to define, design, develop and deploy Four Seasons Yachts' future web digital product.  

Romain's luxury cruise experience began in 2017 when he became UI/UX developer at Crystal Cruises. With his understanding of IT and marketing, he served as a bridge between both teams and his contributions as the digital product owner led to Crystal's website being awarded Sitefinity’s Best Hospitality Website of the year.

Since Crystal, Romain has worked in telecom at T-Mobile and financial technology at CashApp, strengthening his understanding of data management, customer data platform, machine learning and content management system development.  

Deborah Suarez

As senior manager of special projects, Suarez — 'who's going to be a superstar in our industry,' Pimentel predicted —  is responsible for entrepreneurial initiatives and splits her time between Chief Commercial Officer/Head of Joint Operatons Thatcher Brown and Tony Faso, general counsel and chief people & culture officer.

Suarez brings valuable luxury start-up experience from The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, where she spearheaded product development, crafting the brand's approach and strategy from its land-based hotel/resort reference to the specific requirements of passenger shipping.

As the driving force behind the creation of new and evolving onboard guest experiences, she ensured brand alignment and execution in collaboration with stakeholders across the organization. Advancing to the position of senior manager for product development & brand quality, Suarez added responsibility for guest voice analytics.

Hector Fajardo

As manager, planning & integration, Fajardo is responsible for coordinating and managing organizational processes and resources to ensure that Four Seasons Yachts’ strategic go-to-market initiatives are successfully completed. He reports to Brown.

A seasoned marketing professional, Fajardo held senior management positions at Azamara and Brightline. His experience in developing and managing data-driven, omni-channel campaigns coupled with his distribution expertise allows him to plan, manage and integrate the complex workstreams with multiple stakeholders. For Four Seasons, he's undergone AI training.

Pimentel noted Fajardo is an Ironman competitor with a 'can-do' attitude and the drive of a first-generation Cuban American.   

More to come

In the next six weeks or so, Pimentel expects to hire several more professionals, bringing the Four Seasons Yachts team to more than 30 strong.