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Rod McLeod remembered for his warmth and marketing genius
Cruise industry titans remembered Rod McLeod, the longtime cruise executive, as a marketing genius who helped put cruising on the map.
McLeod died on June 3, just shy of his 85th birthday. His long cruise industry career included executive positions at the each of the Big Three cruise companies, beginning in 1972 as Royal Caribbean's first marketing director before being promoted to chief marketing officer and executive vice president of sales, marketing and passenger services.
Later, he would serve as president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line and became Carnival Corp.'s senior vice president of marketing.
In an attempt to help revive domestic U.S. cruising, he was also president of American Classic Voyages for two years.
"Rod really was a pioneer in the industry," said Richard Fain, the chairman and former CEO of Royal Caribbean Group. "He was involved in so many defining elements and growth. Beyond that he was a really good person. He formed so many special relationships. And this is an industry that is built on relationships."
Fain praised McLeod's marketing prowess at a time "when nobody understood what cruising was."
"He was one of the early pioneers to help communicate that cruising was something for everyone, and those campaigns were very successful for us," Fain said. "He was instrumental in creating the image of the industry and of Royal Caribbean in people's minds."
Bob Dickinson, the former CEO of Carnival Cruise Line, recalled being good friends and competitors starting in the 1970s when McLeod was at Royal Caribbean.
"Unlike a lot of other cruise executives, he was very comfortable in his own skin," Dickinson said, adding that McLeod had a "natural warmth and affinity for travel agents.
"He wasn't an accounting guy. He had a great personality and was just fun to be around."
Many travel advisors recalled McLeod and Dickinson's onstage banter at industry events.
"We'd spar back and forth on issues, and nobody took it personally," Dickinson said. "Nothing was scripted, like it is today. It was a very different time and much more fun."
Former Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Andy Stuart remembered meeting McLeod for the first time when Stuart joined the industry in 1988. "His name was always said with reverence," Stuart said. It was quite intimidating to meet him for the first time. He took time to chat with me and was the most humble and charming guy you could ever meet.
"He took the time to chat with everyone," Stuart added. "It didn't matter who you were."
Rick Sasso, chairman of MSC North America and the former Celebrity Cruises president, who first met McLeod in the early 1970s, said McLeod "was a classic marketing genius."
"He brought incredible attention to our industry and their brands," Sasso said. "He had a great impact and was one of the most talented and well-respected" of the old guard of cruise executives.
Innovation and 'witty sparring'
McLeod was inducted into CLIA's Cruise Industry Hall of Fame in 2015. The organization said McLeod was "widely credited with leading an innovative marketing and sales organization that enabled Royal Caribbean to emerge as one of the cruise industry's most powerful and sustainable brands."
Anne Kalosh, the editor of Seatrade Cruise News who has been reporting on the industry for more than 40 years, said McLeod was one of cruising's "greatest proponents and leaders, a gifted communicator, marketer and sales strategist."
"As a young reporter, I would go into his office for a scheduled short interview and emerge two hours later with a much greater understanding of the topic and the cruise industry," she said.
Kalosh also recalled "the witty sparring" between McLeod and Dickinson at industry events. "They were a famous duo of friendly competitors," she said.
McLeod's grandson, Matthew Roderick Armstrong, said the family was planning to honor McLeod's wish that after his death, the family take a cruise together, calling at many of the ports he loved most. "Truly, the hardest decision will be choosing which of the cruise lines he shaped that we'll sail with," Armstrong said.
McLeod is survived by two of his three children, six of his seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
