Mark Birnie joined Harding+ in June 2003 as Director of Retail Operations and has held a number of critical senior roles in the business before becoming Deputy CEO in 2019, and Chief Operations Officer in parallel in 2023. Mark has recently included the merchandising team into his portfolio and has the overarching responsibility for Supply Chain Planning, Forecasting and Logistics across the Harding business ensuring the right product, to the right guest on the right ship on time A key responsibility in these combined roles is to lead and champion best in class supply chain relationships and processes alongside the global logistics delivery that a cruise retailer needs to excel at when ‘missing the boat’ is never an option. All these elements work increasingly closely together in the everyday with a cradle to grave reality, and Mark’s 30 years of cruise retail experience in and deep understanding of the travel retail sector is vital to making things tick in the engine room of the company. Mark was also a key part of the senior Exec team leading a process post pandemic that saw Davidson Kempner as new business backers that has helped Harding+ deliver rapid growth to reach the position of current market leader in terms of number of ships served. Mark has also held previous roles in Harding+ that include Director of Retail Operations, Director of Retail Strategy and Business Development. Prior to his 20 years at Harding+, Mark spent 6 years elsewhere in the same sector as Retail Manager for Starboard Cruise Services. His specialisms include business planning, logistics and supply chain, profit protection, Shipboard HR, Merchandising and operations and financial planning.