Adelante · Hispanic Heritage Month 2026
Bettina A. Deynes
Global Chief Human Resources Officer, Carnival Corporation
People and HR chapter
Bettina A. Deynes is uniting Carnival Corporation's people function across its brands, regions, and shipboard and shoreside operations, anchored by a Global Crew Lifecycle Management model. Her argument is that leadership is not about proving how much you know but about helping others believe in what is possible.
01What you're building
What are you building right now, and what does it make possible that wasn't possible before?
I’m building a more unified, enterprise-wide people function across Carnival, connecting our brands, regions, and shipboard and shoreside operations through shared data, technology, governance and talent practices, while preserving what makes each brand distinctive. A central part of this work is our Global Crew Lifecycle Management model, which brings recruitment, onboarding, deployment, development, workforce intelligence and the employee experience together as one connected ecosystem. Most importantly, it enables us to operate not simply as separate organizations, but as one enterprise united by a common purpose.
02What it took
What did it take to get here that people don't see?
What people do not see is the sustained work required to turn an enterprise ambition into shared ownership: hundreds of conversations across brands and regions, listening before acting, challenging long-held assumptions, building trust among leaders accustomed to operating independently, and making difficult organizational and talent decisions. It required navigating legacy systems, fragmented data, competing priorities and natural resistance to change, all while continuing to deliver for the business every day. Much of the progress came through quiet persistence, bringing people back to a common purpose and creating the confidence that we could accomplish more together than any one team or brand could achieve alone.
Do not wait until you feel completely ready. Lead with courage, curiosity and integrity, and bring others with you.
03Who carried you
Who carried you, and what did they teach you that you still use every week?
I have been carried by my family, by mentors who believed in me before I fully believed in myself, and by teams who trusted me enough to build something new together. My family taught me resilience and kept me grounded in what truly matters; my mentors taught me to enter every room prepared, speak the truth with courage and never confuse leadership with title; and my teams continually remind me that the best answers rarely come from one person. I still use those lessons every week: listen first, hold high standards, remain human in difficult moments and create opportunities for others to become more than they thought possible.
04For the leader coming up
What is the one thing you'd tell the leader coming up behind you?
Do not wait until you feel completely ready. Lead with courage, curiosity and integrity, and bring others with you. You will never have every answer, but if you listen deeply, make principled decisions and create space for talented people to contribute, you can move even the most complex organization forward. Leadership is not about proving how much you know; it is about helping others believe in what is possible and giving them the confidence to build it with you.
05Adelante
Adelante means forward. Where are you taking your function, your company, or your industry next?
Adelante, for me, means taking our people function from a collection of strong individual capabilities to one connected global system, using shared technology, workforce intelligence and talent practices to serve our shipboard and shoreside employees more seamlessly across brands and borders. We are creating an organization that can anticipate workforce needs, move talent and innovation more freely, and use data and AI responsibly while preserving the human judgment and personal connection at the heart of hospitality. My ambition is not only to transform HR at Carnival, but to help establish a new standard for how a complex, global and highly mobile workforce can be supported, developed and inspired.
The recognition · People and HR
Bettina A. Deynes is Global Chief Human Resources Officer of Carnival Corporation, leading people strategy for one of the world's largest travel and leisure companies and its tens of thousands of employees at sea and ashore. She is recognized in the People and HR chapter.
Meet all the Adelante leadersThe Floor
Every leader recognized in Adelante answers a short set of questions in their own words, and the answers they approve go into the 2027 book.
