All Episodes

July 10, 2024 44 mins

Listeners welcome back to the pod - today we will dive deep into the life of one of the most influential figures in the cruise line and maritime world. Our guest is a titan of the cruise line industry, a visionary entrepreneur, and a lifelong champion of global tourism his name is Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio. 

Manfredi has transformed his family business into a global leader in luxury cruising. Under his leadership, Silversea Cruises expanded its company offering travel experiences across all seven continents around the world. In a strategic partnership with Royal Caribbean Manfredi orchestrated the sale of a ⅔ stake in Silversea for a whopping $1 billion in 2018. This strategic partnership not only elevated Silversea's brand but also marked one of the most significant deals in the cruise industry's history. And lastly, Manfredi is the Chairman of The Heritage Group which is a private equity company that acquired 85% of one of the biggest luxury travel companies in the world Abercrombie & Kent - whose founder Geoffrey Kent was on the podcast just last month. 

Today we are going to dive into the life and mind of Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio. 

00:12: Who is Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio?

03:42: Manfredi’s Recommended Books     

05:56: Manfredi’s Starts a Cruise Line

13:01: How this Billion-Dollar Founder Spends his Time

15:05: The Biggest Challenge Manfredi Experienced was September 11, 2001. 

18:56: Manfredi Takes Over the Family Business

21:18: Manfredi Pioneers the Luxury Cruise Industry. 

24:39: Why Manfredi Loves Being an Entrepreneur

26:13: Manfredi’s Career Chapters

29:59: Manfredi Orchestrated the Most Significant Deal in the Cruise Industry. 

32:47: Manfredi & Geoffrey Kent Built the First Expedition Cruise Ship

34:59: Manfredi’s Daily Routine

37:13: Advice Manfredi Would Give His Younger Self

37:58: Things to Look for in Executives and Partners When You Bring Them On 

40:25: What is Manfredi Most Proud Of?

Contact Info:

https://www.manfredilefebvre.com/

https://heritagemonaco.com/

https://www.silversea.com/

Transcript:

[00:00:12] Chris: Listeners, welcome back to the podcast today, and we will dive deep into the life of one of the most influential figures in the cruise line and maritime world. Our guest today is a Titan in the cruise line industry, a visionary entrepreneur, a lifelong champion of global tourism, and his name is Manfredi LaFavre D'Ovidio.

Manfredi has transformed his family business into a global leader in luxury cruising. Under his leadership, Silver Sea Cruises expanded its company, offering travel experiences across all seven continents around the world. In a strategic partnership with Royal Caribbean, Manfredi orchestrated the sale of a two third stake in Silversea for a whopping 1 billion in 2018.

This strategic partnership not only elevated Silversea's brand, but also marked. One of the most significant deals in the cruise industry's history. And lastly, Manfredi is the chairman of the heritage group, which is a private equity company that acquired 85 percent of one of the biggest luxury travel companies in the world, Abercrombie and Kent, whose founder was actually on the podcast last month.

So if you haven't listened to that interview yet, make sure you check it out. And today we're going to dive into the life and mind of Manfredi. Listeners, welcome to the show. Manfredi, welcome to the show. How are you doing today?

[00:01:34] Manfredi: Not too bad. Not too bad. Can I add something to what you said?

[00:01:38] Chris: Please do. Add or take away.

Whatever you like.

[00:01:41] Manfredi: Well, what happened is that as soon as I did my deal with Royal Caribbean, I did buy, uh, Abercrombie Kent, which recently I brought up to 100 percent shareholding, and I sold to Royal Caribbean subsequently one further that I owned, uh, in, uh, Silver Sea in exchange of Royal Caribbean shares and acquired another cruise line, which is called Crystal Cruises.

[00:02:04] Chris: Ah, I did actually read about that. Forgive me for not putting that in there.

[00:02:08] Manfredi: No, so it's just, the story goes on. And before Silver Sea, we had another cruise line, which was called Sydmar. Okay.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.

NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.

  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • AdChoicesAd Choices