Lutoff-Perlo just separated from Royal Caribbean Group effective April 25, where she was vice chair for the past year.

Before that, she was president/CEO of Celebrity Cruises since 2014 and earlier held many trailblazing senior positions at Celebrity and at Royal Caribbean International. She started at Royal Caribbean in 1985 as a district sales manager.

Gearing up to welcome 60,000 fans

'It's truly an honor to be one of the first former CEOs from outside the sports world chosen to lead such a prestigious event,' Lutoff-Perlo wrote on LinkedIn. 'Alongside my incredible team, we'll be spearheading efforts to foster robust collaboration between South Florida's public and private sector leaders, gearing up to welcome over 600,000 fans and visitors in the summer of 2026.'

Miami will host seven matches including two semifinals and the bronze final. All matches will be held at the Hard Rock Stadium.

'Like seven Super Bowls'

Lutoff-Perlo told The Miami Herald this is 'like seven Super Bowls.'

In her new role, she will work closely with FIFA World Cup 2026 Miami Host Committee Co-chairs Rodney Barreto, chairman and CEO of the Barreto Group, and Beau Ferrari, senior advisor to the chairman of NBCUniversal.