Insights From the C-Suite: Andrea DeMarco, Former President, Regent Seven Seas Cruises

As part of a new, members-only series, Women Leading Travel & Hospitality is asking industry executives about their professional journeys, mentorship, how they stay up-to-date on the latest industry technology and trends, how they take care of themselves, and so much more. This week, insight comes from Andrea DeMarco, former president, Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

Women Leading Travel & Hospitality: How do you define and communicate your long-term vision for both your personal leadership journey and the success of your organization?
Andrea DeMarco: I’m a people-centric leader and always look to identify people’s potential and grow them. I’m also a strategic leader who sets a long-term vision and a road map to achieve our goals. I had an amazing leadership team with diverse perspectives and it was super important to me to involve them in the long-term strategy for our company. I held multiple planning sessions each year so we could outline our key priorities, evolve initiatives as needed, and execute. Communication is key and having the entire team rallied behind one set of goals leads to success. We held quarterly town halls and I sent monthly emails to my team to keep everyone up-to-date and to reinforce our vision.

WLT&H: Describe a situation where you encouraged innovation or took a calculated risk in your leadership role. How do you foster a culture that embraces creativity and risk within your team or organization?
AD: I always encourage my team to think outside the box and try new things. Innovation happens when you push yourself to do things differently. When different issues arise, I ask my team to brainstorm together to problem solve. I urge my team to continue to be innovative and find new solutions to problems or new ways to enhance our product. I also think demonstrating my willingness to take calculated risks and showcasing my own creativity encourages others to do the same.

WLT&H: Share an example of a successful cross-functional collaboration you led. How do you build and sustain effective relationships with peers and stakeholders across an organization?
AD: As Regent’s president, I was involved in numerous cross-functional collaborations, leading diverse teams toward common goals. For instance, special promotions require seamless coordination between revenue, sales, marketing and reservations. Similarly, launching a new ship involved close collaboration among our operations, events teams, and public relations. In both instances, my role was to provide support and guidance to these highly skilled teams, ensuring that each function works cohesively. Building and sustaining effective relationships with peers and stakeholders across the organization is ingrained in my leadership approach. I try to create an environment where cross-functional partnerships thrive, leading to the overall success of the company.

WLT&H: What steps do you take to champion diversity and inclusion within your organization, and how do you ensure that your leadership team reflects a broad range of perspectives and backgrounds? How do you measure those efforts?
AD: Our company is committed to fostering an inclusive workforce where diverse backgrounds are represented, engaged and empowered to generate and execute on innovative ideas. I believe people are our most important asset. As such, identifying, recruiting and retaining top talent and incentivizing existing and future team members is critical to long-term success. As a leader it’s important to me to provide my team with opportunities to grow and develop skills and experience, regardless of job role, division or geographic location.

I also was a part of Elevate, the employee resource group of women leaders (senior directors and above) based out of the corporate headquarters. The Elevate group met frequently for support, engagement and personal development. Sessions varied from networking within this group to self-development offerings focused on topics such as negotiation, personal brand and self-care.