Senior Vice President of the Contact Centre Sales and Service Division of Carnival Cruise Line (CCL), Dave Chang, is set to be the guest speaker at the Caribbean Maritime University’s (CMU’s) graduation ceremony, to be held tomorrow (November 17).

The ceremony will take place at the National Indoor Sports Centre, with approximately 500 persons being awarded degrees from the Faculty of Shipping and Logistics, the Faculty of Marine and Nautical Studies, the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Technology, the Centre for Security, Counter-Terrorism and Non-Proliferation, and the School of Graduate Studies and Research.

“I am excited to have VP Chang speak at this year’s graduation. The partnership between the CMU and Carnival Cruise Line has already started to bear fruit, as evidenced by Mr Chang’s participation. When you think of the high calibre of professionals being produced by the CMU, the industry leadership of Carnival, and the kinds of opportunities available within this sector, it is then a no-brainer that both entities would synergise in this way to continue to build out and revolutionise our shipping and port experiences,” said Professor Andrew Spencer, president of the CMU.

Chang, who has been with the company for 21 years is experienced in the maritime and tourism industry. As one of Carnival’s most senior sales executives, he leads more than 1,400 sales and service professionals with a ‘People First’ mantra that recognises that employee engagement is critical to an organisation’s success. He has a proven track record of achieving significant business results and driving consistent revenue growth that has helped make Carnival the most popular cruise line in North America, and which serves more guests than any cruise line across the globe.

A 30-year cruise industry professional, Chang started his career at Renaissance Cruises. In 2001, he joined Carnival Cruise Line as a sales manager for the outbound consumer sales team and has held various positions of increasing responsibility over the last two decades, leading to his current role.

“I’m a proud Jamaican, born and raised in the green hills of Browns Town, St Ann, and it is my absolute pleasure to speak to the graduating students of CMU. I hope that I can inspire them to pursue the career of their dreams in the exciting and dynamic maritime industry, full of endless possibilities,” he noted.

Since its very first cruise in 1972, Carnival Cruise Line has been calling on Jamaica and today brings an average 375,000 guests to the island annually. As part of Carnival’s commitment to the Jamaican community and recognizing the high level of talent that comes from the CMU, it started a partnership with the university in 2019 to recruit graduates for shipboard positions.

Carnival, which is part of Carnival Corporation & plc, operates from 14 US and two Australian homeports and employs more than 40,000 team members representing 120 nationalities. Carnival currently operates 24 ships and is in an exciting period of growth, with Carnival Celebration and Carnival Luminosa, which began guest operations in November, and three additional ships joining the fleet by 2024.