Every year the cruise ship interiors community nominates their Future Leaders. The Future Leaders are the individuals making a positive impact on the teams they work with and the projects they work on. This year, inspired by the uplifting comments made by the nominators, we’re taking a closer look at all the Future Leaders have achieved and the impact they’ve had on the industry.
The Future Leaders we are discussing today are our Magic Makers. These are the leaders, designers and architects who have been nominated for the incredible impact their presence has on their workplace. These are the people who seem to make magic happen in their teams and on their projects. Who have the knack of bringing the best out of any brief, who keeps their team motivated and whose strategic acumen is matched by their inspirational energy.
Our Magic Makers are:
- Kim Bjorge Hofslundsengen, VP Hotel Operations, Hurtigruten
- Emilie Posniak, Architect, OSK Design
- Martin Hendrata, Architect Manager Newbuild, MSC Cruises
- Janne Esa, Technical Manager, Royal Caribbean
The Future Leader’s Guide to Success
Newbuild cruise ship interiors design projects can span as long as five years. Meanwhile refurbishment deadlines can be punishingly tight. The teams working on either side of the industry must also balance the brief, the budget and the interests of the different stakeholders. Whether newbuild or refurbishment, the process can be immersive and intense. Leaders must keep their team motivated and working towards a successful outcome for everyone.
Kim Bjorge Hofslundsengen identified communication as being a way to unlock the potential of the team and the project, ‘The key factor to having a motivated team is to set clear goals and maintain effective communication. With clear goals, everyone has control over their responsibilities and a good control of the timeline.’
Martin Hendrata echoed this, emphasising that good communication isn’t just about what you say, but what you hear. He said, ‘Not everybody can be articulate or tactful when getting their message across, especially when working under pressure – but being a good listener and understanding what people are really saying always helps.’
Both Jan and Emilie Posniak shared how they preferred their teams to think beyond the issue. Jan said, ‘Teams must also adopt a proactive approach, anticipating and addressing issues before they escalate. While this isn’t always feasible, I consistently advise my colleagues to focus on solutions rather than dwelling on problems.’ Emilie advised aspiring leaders to shift their team’s perspective to working in the best interests of the ship itself, saying, ‘I learned early on that the best way to balance the needs of all the many stakeholders in complex projects was to work for the ship.’
Future Leaders, Future Visions
We asked our future leaders to visualise the future of the cruise ship interiors industry and share with us what trends and changes they saw there. Of course, sustainability – already an urgent topic today – was top of everyone’s minds. As Martin said, ‘Sustainable design is not just a trend, it is truly becoming a necessity.’
Janne Esa said, ‘The world has changed and sustainability needs to be taken into account during the whole design, procurement and building process. It is important to select interior materials which are from sustainable and traceable sources.’
Emilie wondered whether AI could be used as a tool to help designers have a greater positive impact. She said, ‘In my view there is no way of overlooking sustainability and artificial intelligence as current and future pivotal forces driving interior design, cruise ships or indeed the entire maritime industry.’ Going on to posit, ‘I know we must be ambitious and courageous in our attempt to design for a better future – and maybe just maybe AI can help us make a greater positive impact.’
Future Leadership
Although these are the future leaders, they are already inspiring their peers and direct reports with their leadership style. In 2022, Kim won the Hurtigruten Leader Award. He responded to this win by saying, ‘Being acknowledged by talented colleagues is truly remarkable.’ He credits his approach, which creates a high-performing and high-morale team, to balancing expectations and understanding. He said, ‘Another important aspect of motivating the team is to be positive and show empathy while also setting high standards. Achieving results is what we all strive for, and that should be the goal.’
Emilie echoes this sentiment, discussing the impact that strong-way communication has on a team. She said, ‘In my opinion good leadership comes from authenticity… I advocate that transparent communication, curiosity, knowledge sharing, empathy and partnership is the path forward as we strive to achieve excellence. While I acknowledge my role as the responsible decision-maker, I firmly believe in placing trust in my colleagues and fostering an open and innovative environment with ample opportunities for learning and growing will ultimately lead to flourishing collaboration and better design proposals.
Martin believes the power to communicate effectively is generated by strong self-knowledge. He also called back to his earlier sentiments around the power that the ability to listen holds. He said, ‘Good leadership starts with clarity and focus within oneself. This enables a leader to communicate goals and timelines to all involved clearly. It means effectively unifying all project participants to deliver by listening to them and understanding their insights and potential.’
For Janne, trust between team leader and the team itself is essential. The leader must be able to trust the team to perform to the best of their ability, but that trust is generated by his own trustworthiness. He said, ‘The team have to trust the leader for the leader to perform successfully and be able to motivate the team. Good leader shares the knowledge and speaks always truthfully.’
You can find out more about the Future Leader programme and this year’s Future Leaders here. Attend CSI at Miami Beach Convention Center and meet many of the Future Leaders. Or, look out for more interviews, articles and brand q&as here and over at CSI+.
Want more of this?
Check out the Cruise Ship Interiors (CSI) Design Expo Americas blog for more design insights and the latest industry updates. CSI Design Expo Americas is the world’s only exhibition and conference exclusively dedicated to connecting the buyers and suppliers of the cruise design industry. The next event will be taking place on 3 – 4 June 2025 alongside Hotel & Resort Design South and Cruise Xperience Innovation Summit at the Miami Beach Convention Center.