Lisa Lutoff-Perlo

Global business powerhouse and South Florida Business Journal and Forbes Travel Guide Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo is President & CEO of FIFA World Cup 2026 Miami Host Committee. As President and CEO of the Miami host Committee, Lisa is responsible for leading the strategy, fundraising, fan activations, and operations for the seven 2026 Men’s FIFA World Cup matches. Lisa’s tested commitment to excellence, innovation, hospitality and outstanding results will drive the Miami Host Committee’s success as The 2026 FIFA World Cup is anticipated to be one of the most significant global sporting events. Miami, one of the world’s leading sports and entertainment destinations, joins 16 host cities in North America to showcase the world’s most popular sports tournament with more than 3.5 billion fans worldwide.  

Previously she served as Vice Chairman, External Affairs for the Royal Caribbean Group, one of the leading cruise companies in the world with a global fleet of 64 ships sailing for three award-winning cruise brands, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. In this role, she worked to drive the company strategy forward working closely with both industry organizations and key external stakeholders. Prior to this role, she served as President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises from 2014 to 2023, the first woman to take the helm of a Royal Caribbean Group brand and one of the few women in the world at the time leading a multibillion-dollar brand.  

Lutoff-Perlo is a recognized icon and trailblazer in the global hospitality industry. With unparalleled brand vision and stewardship, she transformed and re-defined today’s relaxed luxury cruise experience with the launch of the bold, innovative Edge Series ships in 2018. Immediately hailed as game-changing for the industry and recognized on TIME Magazine’s annual “World’s Greatest Places” list, among hundreds of additional awards for innovation and service, the ships drove unprecedented demand for the brand. 

In 2021, Lutoff-Perlo’s operational acumen and foresight was highlighted as she led the entire industry back into service following the 15-month pandemic shutdown, when her then flagship, Celebrity Edge, was the first ship approved to sail from a U.S. port once again. She then remarkably returned the entire Celebrity fleet of 15 ships to operations over the course of the next year, including launching two new Edge Series ships, Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Beyond. In 2023, Celebrity Cruises’ ships were the first in the world to earn the coveted star rating from Forbes Travel Guide.  

Taking the helm as President and CEO at Celebrity Cruises in 2014, Lutoff-Perlo led the company into an era of unprecedented growth. Her unique skill in managing the business with a guest-first approach, fueled by data-driven insights and digital innovation, led to accelerated financial performance for the brand.  She recounts her lessons learned on this journey in her leadership book, “Making Waves: A Woman’s Rise to the Top Using Smarts, Heart and Courage” available in February, 2024.  

She is a member of the Board of Directors of Fortune 500 company AutoNation (NYSE: AN), America’s largest and most recognized automotive retailer, where she sits on the Audit and Governance Committees. She also actively lends her expertise to numerous international and regional nonprofit organizations and currently serves as the Chair of the board for the United Way of Broward County. 

Throughout her nearly 40 years at the company, and prior to becoming CEO, Lutoff-Perlo enjoyed a succession of progressive sales, marketing and operations leadership roles at RCL with expanding scope, responsibility and P&L oversight. In 2005, she was named Celebrity’s first female Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations and, in 2012, she was named Executive Vice President of Operations for Royal Caribbean, becoming the first woman in the industry to oversee both hotel and marine operations.  

Lutoff-Perlo has received numerous awards for her groundbreaking contributions to the cruise industry, travel industry, the South Florida business community, gender equality, and diversity and inclusion including an Honorary Doctorate from Nova Southeastern University; Lifetime Achievement Awards from the South Florida Business Journal, Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA) and Women in Travel; induction into the International Hall of Fame by the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey; Leadership in Diversity Award from the Committee for Economic Development; and the prestigious Eleanor Roosevelt Center Val-Kill Medal of Honor, acknowledging individuals whose far-reaching influence has made our world a better place.  

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2021 Dean’s Distinguished Speakers Series