Charles (Bud) Darr

Charles “Bud” Darr is President and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the global trade association that represents an expansive community of the world’s most prestigious ocean, river, and specialty cruise lines; a highly trained and certified travel agent community; and a widespread network of stakeholders, including ports and destinations, ship development, suppliers, and business services.

As President and CEO, Bud is responsible for leading the organization’s work as the leading authority and voice of the industry across the association’s five operating regions, including North America, Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Australasia, and Brazil.

Bud was announced in December 2024 as president and CEO of CLIA effective 3 February 2025—returning to CLIA, having previously held the post of Senior Vice President of Technical and Regulatory Affairs from 2010 to 2017. Prior to his return to CLIA, Bud served as Executive Vice President, Maritime Policy and Government Affairs, at MSC Group for more than seven years. During his accomplished career in maritime, he has also held positions within the U.S. Coast Guard, including Deputy Chief of Maritime & International Law, and he has served in the U.S. Navy, Merchant Marine, and Coast Guard.

A highly respected figure in the maritime world, Bud’s leadership of CLIA comes at an important time for the industry as the cruise sector builds on a strong and responsible growth trajectory in support of its 2050 sustainability targets. He has exceptional maritime experience and over the course of his career has built outstanding relationships across the global cruise industry and with related trade, equipment, ports, shipbuilders, and service providers.

Bud has extensive experience across the broader maritime community, including through his involvement with the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), BIMCO, UK Chamber of Shipping, Liberian Shipowners Council, SEA-LNG, Society for Gas as Marine Fuel, World Shipping Council, IMO World Maritime University, Cruise Safety and Sustainability Forum, and the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI).

He began his education in Submarine Nuclear Engineering and later obtained his formal undergraduate education at the US Merchant Marine Academy. During his service with the US Coast Guard, he studied law at the George Washington University Law School.

Matthew Dass

Matthew has been working as an economist for 15 years and currently leads the EMEA tourism consultancy unit at Oxford Economics. Throughout his career, he has conducted numerous tourism impact and policy studies for destinations around the world, focusing on specific sectors such as the cruise, accommodation, and aviation industries. Notably, he has provided economic impact consulting services to various cruise operators and stakeholders within the cruise ecosystem. His work includes conducting cruise destination and port impact studies across the Caribbean, North America, and Europe. Additionally, Matthew has directed the development of a series of cruise economic impact studies—the first since 2019—in partnership with CLIA.

Julie Green

Julie Green joined CLIA in January 2020 as Vice President of Strategic Communications in Europe. Previously, Julie worked in a series of international roles in corporate PR and public policy, including heading up global communications for the infrastructure business at engineering firm Bechtel. During her time at Bechtel, she ran strategic communications and thought leadership programmes across multiple markets, including central and eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Julie has also served in the European Commission Directorate-General for Communication.

Steffi Heinicke

Steffi Heinicke is Senior Vice President Guest Experience at AIDA Cruises, responsible for Guest Service, Guest Commerce, Entertainment, and Refits & New Buildings, a role she has held since 2019. In her position she is member of the AIDA Executive Team. Ms. Heinicke holds an MBA from Stralsund University of Applied Sciences and commenced her career with the company in 2006 within the Human Resources department. In 2015, she acquired international management experience as Vice President Corporate HR in Shanghai, playing a key role in advancing the Costa Group's operations in Asia. Since 2016, she has been based in Rostock, directing the guest experience strategy for the AIDA fleet. A native of Rügen, Steffi resides in Rostock with her husband and two children.

Chris Mastrippolito

Chris Mastrippolito is Director, Global Research for Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). In this role, he leads the research strategies for the industry - providing insights and data that help identify industry trends and opportunities, as well as demonstrate the leadership of the industry in responsible tourism, including environmental technologies and practices that illustrate the leadership and sustainability of cruise travel and the economic impact of cruise globally, regionally, and in key cruise markets.

Mastrippolito joined the organization in October 2015 and was promoted to his current position in March 2022. During his time at CLIA, Mastrippolito has greatly expanded the research program for the industry - expanding research related to global passenger data, automating a number of data sources to deliver greater value to partners and members.

Prior to joining CLIA, he was Director of Information Management for Waste Oil Recyclers, and previous to that role was with Maritz Travel Company where he was Information Manager with responsibility for data analysis in support of the organization’s strategic planning and operations. Mastrippolito attended Temple University for his bachelor’s degree with a concentration in computer science.

Nikos Mertzanidis

Nikos Mertzanidis is Executive Director for Europe at Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) where he leads the association's European office in Brussels. In this role, he oversees advocacy efforts on behalf of CLIA's member cruise lines operating across Europe and champions policies and practices that support the cruise sector's energy transition towards net-zero emissions by 2050.

Mertzanidis joined CLIA in 2016 as Manager, European Government Affairs and was promoted to Director in 2020 and Vice-President in 2024, and to his present position in 2025.

Prior to joining CLIA, Mertzanidis was a political advisor, working on the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, and later joined Imperial Brands Ltd. where he was the chief lobbyist focused on EU legislation for FMCG, taxation, new generational products, and consumer affairs.

A seasoned government and public affairs professional, with expertise in global public affairs, policy making and European business regulation, Mertzanidis is a long-standing member of the International Political Science Association and the Society of European Affairs Professionals.

Born and raised in Greece, he studied political science and international relations at the University of Macedonia in Greece, working in parallel for the UNESCO Chair for Intercultural Policy. In 2009, he earned his Master's degree in International Politics at the University of Aberystwyth in Wales, and in 2022, he submitted his PhD, with an emphasis on International Relations, to the University of Macedonia.

Sean Morgan

Sean has a wealth of tourism, and specifically, cruise industry market research and analytics experience having spent nearly two decades undertaking a wide variety of research and consulting assignments in the UK and beyond.

Sean’s responsibilities include managing primary and secondary research activities, including survey work, for Tourism Economics’ consulting projects and collaborating closely with clients to enable a deeper understanding of tourism trends. He oversees Tourism Economics’ cruise market research studies which includes the delivery of regular cruise industry consumer and business research.

A meticulous analyst with a deep understanding of the industry, Sean plays an important role delivering tourism research reports and regularly shares travel and consumer insights at industry conferences.

Prior to joining Tourism Economics in 2023, Sean was a Director at STR for over 5 years and prior to that he was Managing Director of LJ Research, a boutique tourism market research agency. During his tenure at STR he was responsible for leading their Tourism Consumer Insights division which delivered a broad range of tourism and hospitality studies.

Sean studied Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.

Adam Newman

Adam leads CLIA's political engagement in the UK and Ireland. Adam's work is split between CLIA's Strategic Communications and Government Affairs functions. With an extensive background in helping a range of organisations with their political relations, Adam previously worked with CLIA for four years as an external consultant before joining the organisation in May 2024.

Jon Olav Stedje

With over 15 years of dedicated experience in sustainability within the cruise and travel industry, Jon Olav has accomplished many significant professional achievements through his strong community engagement, extensive network, and commitment to sustainable development.

Originally from the fjords of Norway, Jon Olav has developed his sustainability and maritime expertise throughout his career. Before joining MSC Cruises, Jon Olav served as Manager of Port Operations at the Port of Flam in Norway for nine years. During his tenure, he engaged in several industry related environmental and sustainable initiatives, including being member of the Sustainable Committee at Cruise Europe. His role in Flam involved navigating various governmental and political processes, achieving favourable outcomes for sustainable practices. He has also collaborated closely with organisations such as Cruise Norway and CLIA, further enhancing his impact in the industry. He holds a degree in Travel and Tourism Management from the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.