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Svendsen brings more than three decades of business & corporate development, branding, sales, marketing, operations, and mergers and acquisitions experience across the hospitality, recreation, and leisure industries to Oasis Marinas.
Oasis Marinas, the premier provider of third-party marina management services in the United States, today named Kenneth Svendsen as Chief Executive Officer. Svendsen has more than 30 years of broad consumer-facing experience that began in the travel industry in Europe before successful roles with The Walt Disney Company, Hilton Worldwide, Entertainment Cruises, and most recently, Hornblower Cruise & Events.
As CEO, Svendsen will continue to scale Oasis Marina’s current properties and expand the company’s footprint. Svendsen’s leadership will drive Oasis through its next growth and diversification stage and advance its overall portfolio and customer service experience.
“We are thrilled to have Kenneth join the Oasis team,” said Oasis Marinas President Matt Shipman. “Kenneth is a proven leader, and his decades of experience in the hospitality industry will position Oasis to expand on our customer service successes and continue to provide high-quality and unique experiences for boaters across the country.”
During his tenure as CEO at Entertainment Cruises, and President Hornblower Cruises and Events, Svendsen planned, expanded, integrated, and led the team to what became North America’s largest and leading provider of water-based dining, sightseeing, private charter, and transportation experiences. He oversaw an expansion from 26 ships and 1.5 million guests in 8 destinations to 157 ships in 22 destinations with 9.8 million guests annually on multiple continents and a team of 5,000. He presided over the Entertainment Cruises liquidity event to Hornblower Group. Prior to his roles at Entertainment Cruises and Hornblower Group, Kenneth served as President of Walt Disney Travel Company, SVP of Global Sales, Worldwide Travel Operations for Disney Destinations Globally and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) USA Parks and Resorts. In 2009, Kenneth was recruited by Hilton Worldwide to serve as Global Head of Sales, Reservation Operations, Regional Marketing and Hotel Quality Assurance, creating integrated teams and culture that accelerated business solutions, partnerships, and distribution optimization. Svendsen was part of the team that doubled the number of properties to 3,800 by 2013. Svendsen also serves on the boards of multiple new ventures, social enterprise organizations, and non-profits. In both business and philanthropy, he has a track record of transforming organizations from decentralized domestic legacy businesses to centralized global enterprises with robust shared services of excellence, moving companies further on the trajectory of success and diversification.
Founded in 2014, Oasis Marinas offers property owners and boaters world-class facilities management, high-touch customer service, and comprehensive maintenance and amenity services at more than 53 locations along the east coast, Gulf of Mexico, and Great Lakes, with expansion underway in other key U.S. markets. Oasis’ quality-first approach allows for a better experience for marina owners and boaters.
“I am incredibly honored to have been selected to lead Oasis Marinas,” Svendsen said. “The Oasis team has built a world-class business dedicated to the highest level of customer satisfaction, and I look forward to continued growth and superior service across all facets of the company.”
About Oasis Marinas
A privately held marina management company, Oasis Marinas, is based in Annapolis, MD. The company provides marina management services to marina owners that support all aspects of the marina, including boat slips, provisions, fuel docks, and the associated contracts with the vendors running the maintenance services, restaurants, and other business services such as marina redevelopment and construction. Oasis’s mission is to incorporate a consistent, fun, welcoming, and well-maintained environment in every Oasis-managed marina. The Oasis Marinas portfolio has 53 properties from the Northeast, Lake Erie, the Chesapeake Bay, and Potomac, Carolinas, and down the coast of Florida.
Learn more about us at http://www.oasismarinas.com.