MPI 50th Anniversary Honoree Spotlight: Christine Duffy
As we celebrate MPI’s 50th Anniversary, we must celebrate the playmakers and gamechangers that got us here. Chris Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, has been breaking glass ceilings, paving the way for women in the hospitality industry, and using her influence to create major initiatives within MPI for decades. Her impact does not go unnoticed with recognition as a Past MPI President/Chair as well as previously winning the First Buzz Bartow Memorial Award and the Tomorrow's Leader Award. See her inspiring story below.
MPI: Please tell us about your career.
CD: I’ve enjoyed a fruitful career in the travel and hospitality industries in a variety of capacities. I started my career as a travel agent working for McGettigan Partners, a family-run travel company in Philadelphia. The agency grew and eventually was bought by Maritz Travel Company, the world’s largest corporate meeting, events and incentive travel company where I worked for 10 years, six of which as president and CEO. I worked directly with Fortune 500 corporations in the automotive, pharmaceutical, financial services and technology sectors. From there, I joined the cruise industry in 2011 as president and CEO of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the world's largest cruise industry trade association with representation of cruise lines globally. And in 2015, I became the first female president of Carnival Cruise Line, the flagship brand of global cruise industry leader Carnival Corporation. As president, I lead a company with a fleet of 23 ships, sailing nearly six million guests annually and employing more than 40,000 people who hail from 120 nations around the globe.
MPI: Why did you first get involved with MPI? What were you looking to get out of it at the time?
CD: I joined MPI in the mid-nineties participating with my local Philadelphia Chapter. I was working at McGettigan Partners at the time and our CEO John Pino was involved and one of our sales executives, Linda Layton, who had joined us from the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau was also a member. I began attending Chapter meetings and was introduced to Kimberly Myer who was the head of Education for MPI. She encouraged me to get involved nationally and I began attending the national events and met more people from MPI headquarters. Ed Griffin was CEO of MPI at the time and I had begun working on the idea of establishing a Women’s Leadership Initiative. There were so many women in the industry and there was no forum or development focused on women who wanted to grow their careers.
MPI: How did you grow within MPI?
CD: While I had spoken to other industry associations such as PCMA and ASAE, it was MPI that offered to provide staff to support and sponsor this women’s initiative. I was invited to present the idea at an MPI board meeting and Dave Johnson who was an executive with Wyndham at the time contributed $300,000 to get us started. Joann Bedrosian-Ryan with United Airlines also stepped up and we launched with an advisory board that included Charlotte St. Martin who for many of us was a role model for how far women in the industry could go as she had been general manager of the Loews Anatole Hotel which, at the time, was one of the largest convention hotels in the country! Other female leaders from the industry engaged and we were able to conduct research, deliver programming and networking for women in the industry. Over time, this program became integrated into MPI under Marsha Flanagan.
In addition to Dave Johnson, George Aguel from Disney, Hugh Lee from Fusion Productions and Jerry Wayne with Opryland were on the board along with Evelyn Laxgang, the head of meetings and events for Motorola. I submitted my application and joined the MPI board where I served for eight years ultimately becoming Chair of the association. During this time, the CEO role transitioned from Ed Griffin to Colin Rory to Bruce MacMillan and ultimately to Paul who is with us today! I served on several of those search committees and on the MPI Foundation Board of Trustees as well.
MPI: How has being a part of MPI enhanced or helped develop your professional career?
CD: My experience in the meetings industry and with MPI as my primary professional association has allowed me to learn, develop and grow. And, as I have encouraged others by volunteering to serve in leadership roles, you are not only giving back to the industry, but gaining critical leadership skills that have served me well as I progressed in my career. The business relationships I developed with both suppliers and clients were enriched by the work we did together as volunteer leaders. Creating a common understanding of the trends, issues and opportunities that faced our industry and our individual businesses were shared by the education and research delivered by MPI. And, as we all know too well during the major crisis of our times, from 9/11 to 2008 to the pandemic of the past two years, MPI along with the U.S. Travel Association, has been a catalyst that brings us together with even greater resolve to ensure our industry will thrive in the future.
On a personal note, the very best part of MPI has been the friendships made along the way. I cannot emphasize the power of the MPI network of relationships!
For all these reasons, I would encourage young professionals in the meetings and incentive industry to definitely get involved with MPI!
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