Monday, January 8, 2007

Prevratil Steps Off Queen Mary's Bridge

By Harry Saltzgaver,
Executive Editor

Joseph Prevratil, skipper of the Queen Mary for the last 13 years, has stepped down as president and CEO of the RMS Foundation.

Prevratil will remain as chairman of the board for the nonprofit, which operates the landmark ship. Howard Bell moves up from chief financial officer and chief operating officer to become the new president and CEO.

Employees at the Queen Mary were informed of the decision Monday (today) via a letter in pay packets.

“After 25 years in the city of Long Beach and all but three of those spent at the helm of the Queen Mary, it is time for me to retire from the day-by-day management of the ship,” the letter says. “As many of you know — I am a year away from being 70 years old, and it is time for me to take things a little easier — for my future health and well being.”

Prevratil first came to the Queen Maryin 1982 as vice president in charge of operations for Wrather Port Properties, the lease holder at the time. He served stints as executive director of the Port of Long Beach and project manager for the Convention Center expansion.

In 1993, the city took ownership of the Queen Mary and surrounding property after the Disney Corp. dropped its lease. Prevratil created the RMS Foundation to reopen the ship. He later created the for-profit Queen’s Seaport Development Inc. to develop the property around the ship, and won a 66-year lease to do so.

Prevratil revamped ship operations and eventually reached positive cash flow the year before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks caused a tourism industry collapse. He was named he city’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” in 1999.

But relations with the city soured in 2003 with disputes over how rent credits were taken. Ultimately, QSDI declared bankruptcy.

A bankruptcy trustee, Howard Ehrenberg, was appointed last year to oversee QSDI operations. But the RMS Foundation is not part of the bankruptcy and still has eight years on its sublease to operate the ship.

Prevratil said he will stay active in Long Beach and plans to concentrate on his role as president of the Archstone Foundation, a nonprofit group focused on issues of importance to older Americans.