John Padgett is the president of Princess Cruises and chief experience & innovation officer for Carnival Corporation.

Appointed in October 2021 as president of the world’s most iconic cruise brand, Padgett oversees all performance and operational functions of Princess Cruises and its global fleet of 15 ships sailing millions of cruise guests to nearly 330 destinations around the world annually.

Since July 2014, Padgett has served as chief experience and innovation officer for Carnival Corporation, responsible for guest experience innovation, development, creation and operations integration, and continues to lead the corporation’s innovation unit.

Exclusively for the Princess Cruises brand, Padgett led the development and implementation of the exclusive Princess MedallionClass® experience, delivering an effortless vacation with unparalleled levels of personalization and guest service on board. The Princess Medallion elevates the guest experience by enabling expedited embarkation, frictionless MedallionPay commerce both on and off the ship, and keyless stateroom entry, as well as service on demand to order anything, anytime, anywhere onboard; way-finding; and family and friends locator.

For Padgett, elevating the guest experience has also meant delivering MedallionNetTM – the best wifi at sea that now features Starlink – which is helping to put an end to the cruise industry’s dark age of slow connectivity.

Prior to Carnival Corporation, Padgett enjoyed an 18-year career with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts where he and his team led the company’s shift to guest experiences grounded in personalization, customization, simplicity and connectivity as the vice president of game changer experience development. He spearheaded the invention, development and implementation of guest engagement innovations that include the MagicBand, FastPass+, Disney’s Magical Express, Be Our Guest restaurant, Main Entrance access portals and Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique retail locations.

In his first decade at Disney, Padgett held a diverse number of business and financial planning executive roles within travel industry sales, consumer marketing, travel operations, facilities, utilities, engineering, transportation and manufacturing.

Padgett holds 35 patents and multiple innovation awards for wearable devices, experience itinerary scheduling and optimization, digital experience interaction platforms and operational processes.

He earned a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in management science and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business.