From London Lawyer to Chief Funatabi Officer | Mitsui Ocean Cruises

He started as a lawyer at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles. His first client in the cruise industry was Princess Cruises. He never planned to stay, and then he never left. Anthony Kaufman is the Senior Executive Advisor, Head of Commercial Strategies, and Chief Commercial Officer of Mitsui Ocean Cruises, and, by his own appointment, the world's only Chief Funatabi Officer. Funatabi: the Japanese word for voyage by boat. In this episode, recorded live from Seatrade Cruise Global in Miami, Anthony shares one of the most unexpected career journeys in the cruise industry, from growing up in London, to starting Princess Cruises' legal department, to becoming General Counsel of P&O Princess in London, to serving as incident commander for the Diamond Princess COVID crisis, to building Mitsui Ocean Cruises from a single aging ship into a growing cruise line with Japan in its DNA. We get into why Japan is now the world's top bucket list destination, what Omotenashi service really means, how Mitsui's 450-passenger ships access over 120 Japanese ports that no other cruise line reaches, and why a cruise is the best way for Western travelers to experience Japan without fear. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 — Welcome to Traveling with Denella & Friends 0:55 — Meet Anthony Kaufman — The Chief Funatabi Officer 1:47 — Growing Up in London, Moving to LA at 12 2:47 — From Lawyer to Cruise Executive 3:11 — Starting the Legal Department at Princess Cruises 4:09 — General Counsel of P&O Princess in London 4:30 — The Royal Caribbean Merger That Almost Happened 5:10 — Homeporting Ships in Japan, Taiwan & China 6:23 — The Diamond Princess COVID Incident 6:49 — How Mitsui Ocean Cruises Found Anthony 8:08 — Why Japan is the World's #1 Bucket List Destination 10:06 — Omotenashi — The Taxi Driver Story 11:34 — 120 Ports — More Than Any Country in the World 13:15 — Cherry Blossom Season Explained 14:46 — What Anthony is Most Proud Of 15:45 — Hot Seat — What Western Travelers Get Wrong About Japan 17:38 — Why a Cruise is the Best Way to See Japan 19:47 — Until We Travel Again CONNECT WITH ANTHONY KAUFMAN LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-kaufman/ MITSUI OCEAN CRUISES Website: www.mitsuioceancruises.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mitsuioceancruises/ CONNECT WITH DENELLA RI'CHARD Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelingwithdenella/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denella/ Website: https://www.travelingwithdenella.com/ Sponsorship inquiries: [email protected]