Lee Applbaum

Lee Applbaum

Lee Applbaum is the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Norwegian Cruise Line, leading the company's global marketing organization in driving brand strategy, guest engagement and demand generation. He is responsible for strengthening the brand and deepening guest connections worldwide.

 With more than 25 years of experience building iconic brands and leading global marketing teams, Applbaum has built a distinguished career across a wide range of consumer goods and services industries.

Prior to joining Norwegian Cruise Line, he served as the Global CMO at Patrón Spirits International where he led fully integrated marketing and innovation efforts across more than 150 countries. Following the successful $5.1 billion sale of Patrón to Bacardi Global Brands Limited in 2018, Applbaum continued to lead the Patrón brand while also assuming responsibility for Grey Goose globally. This led Applbaum to become the cofounder and partner of Round 2 Spirits, a privately held venture focused on the development of disruptive and scalable spirits brands. He has also served as board member and CMO at Wheels Up, a leader in private aviation, and was instrumental in taking the company public in 2021.

In addition, Applbaum has held CMO and leadership roles in marketing and sales across a range of leading brands including Target Australia, Federated Department Stores and The Coca-Cola Company.

He has received numerous awards and accolades throughout his distinguished career, including the prestigious Adweek Brand Genius Award for groundbreaking digital and social media work, and was named Business Insider’s “Most Innovative CMO.”

Applbaum received his B.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.B.A. in Marketing from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.