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Scenic Group restructuring sees senior leadership team enriched

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Claudius Docekal, Bert Goebel and Elisabeth Sadler take up new roles at Scenic
Claudius Docekal, as earlier reported, and Bert Goebel joined the Scenic Group, with Elisabeth Sadler, Capt. James Griffiths and Sepp Dendl promoted internally.

Docekal's appointment to the global senior leadership team as VP product – ocean is part of a larger restructuring to support the business’s growth plans. The luxury tourism industry professional has more than 30 years’ industry experience and was named VP ocean deployment earlier this month. His most recent role was VP deployment at Crystal Cruises where he oversaw the Crystal Yacht & Expedition Cruises brands. Prior to this, he held senior positions at Azamara and Seadream Yacht Club.

Goebel has been named VP hotel operations – ocean, joining the company from Crown & Champa Resort Hotel Group in the Maldives. He has many years of hotel operations experience working for various cruise lines such as Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and AIDA Cruises. He will report to Mark Robinson, SVP operations.

An ‘exciting’ time for Scenic 

Scenic Group COO Rob Voss commented, ‘Claudius joins us at a very exciting time, as we continue to focus on growth in global markets and our unwavering delivery of first-class guest experiences across our cruising portfolio.’ Robinson said of Goebels, ‘I’m delighted that Bert has joined the group at such an exciting time, as we expand from two ocean vessels to four in 2023.’

Robinson went on to add that ‘Goebel brings a wealth of diverse operational knowledge to the group, having worked for the past four years in the luxury hotel sector, in addition to holding various senior operational roles in luxury cruise lines for the past 25 years. 

‘He will lead our onboard operational teams, enhancing our service offerings on our ocean fleet and ensuring our award-winning service continues to develop and deliver wonder to our guests.’

Internal promotions 

Sadler was promoted to VP of product – rivers. Having joined the company in 2014 as part of the Emerald Waterways (now Emerald Cruises) start-up team, Sadler will move to oversee all river products on behalf of both Emerald Cruises and Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours. Sadler will report to Voss. 

‘Elisabeth has been instrumental in the development of the Emerald Cruises brand showcasing best-in-class product development,’ he said. ‘Her passion and knowledge for river cruising ensures we will continue to innovate and stay ahead of the competition. I look forward to working very closely with them both over the coming months.’ 

Capt. Griffiths, formerly director marine operations, was elevated to VP marine & port operations at Scenic. Sepp Dendl, who was director of hotel operations – rivers, has been promoted to VP of hotel operations – rivers. Both will continue to report to Robinson.