Larry Pimentel Exits the Four Seasons Yachts Project
By Anne Kalosh
The high-profile senior cruise executive Larry Pimentel, who has been the face of Four Seasons Yachts, left the project.
Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings, joint owner and operator of Four Seasons Yachts, confirmed the departure of Pimentel, who was president/CEO, and Co-Founder Philip Levine. Co-Founder Nadim Ashi remains involved. Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings is responsible for designing, building and operating the yachts, in partnership with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, which is supplying the hotel crew and the shore excursions.
It is a partnership, not a licensing agreement.
From left, Nadim Ashi, co-founder of Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings, with Philip Levine and Larry Pimentel, who left. They are pictured at the launch of Four Seasons Yachts at the 2022 Monaco Yacht Show. * Photo: Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings
RELATED: Anne Kalosh reports that sales for Four Seasons Yachts are by invitation only.
Veteran Luxury Cruise Leader
Pimentel is a veteran luxury cruise line leader who is the past president and CEO of Azamara, SeaDream Yacht Club, Cunard and Seabourn.
Levine is a noted cruise industry veteran, too. He founded two companies that provide port shopping programs, Onboard Media and Royal Media Partners. (He’s also a real estate investor and served as Miami Beach mayor from 2013 to 2017.)
Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings said Levine resigned from the board and contracted to sell his interest in the venture to existing shareholders.
The company thanked Levine and Pimentel and wished them well.
Surprising Twist
It is a surprising twist that Larry Pimentel exits the Four Seasons project along with Levine.
Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings was established by Levine and Ashi, whose Fort Partners is a Miami-based, privately held real estate and hospitality development firm that owns Four Seasons properties including the Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, Surfside, Florida. Marc and Henry are the names of Ashi and Levine’s sons.
At the project’s launch, Pimentel and Levine told me Four Seasons Yachts had been a dream of theirs for more than 15 years.
I reached out to them; both said only that the Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings statement on their departures speaks for itself.
High-Profile Project
Four Seasons Yachts was unveiled at the 2022 Monaco Yacht Show, causing a huge splash.
A pair of incredibly spacious 190-passenger yachts are being built at Fincantieri in Italy. The first is scheduled to debut in late 2025 and the second in 2026.
Each has 95 suites, and travelers will pay a hefty $2,500 to $3,500 per person daily rate. Some of the suites can be connected, not just horizontally but vertically, for what sound to be palatial accommodations at sea.
Reservations opened on a by-invitation-only basis.
The Four Seasons’ yacht’s canoe aft is modeled after the classic Onassis yacht Christina O. * Rendering: Marc-Henri Cruise Holdings
CEO Search
Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings told me it is beginning a search to select a new CEO.
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