Svendsen brings 30 years of broad consumer facing experience that began in sales and marketing in the travel industry in Europe before successful roles in large, global, public companies The Walt Disney Company and Hilton Worldwide. Subsequently, Kenneth moved to private equity backed models with Hilton, when Blackstone Group took it private, Entertainment Cruises (Pritzker Private Capital), and Hornblower Cruises & Events (Crestview Partners).

Kenneth is currently CEO of Oasis Marinas, professional marina management and services for facilities nationwide, based in Annapolis, MD.

Prior to joining Oasis, Kenneth was President of Hornblower Cruises & Events, operator of three different portfolios that include 157 ships, 4900 staff, and annual revenue of $850M. During his tenure with Hornblower, Kenneth planned, integrated, and led what became the world's largest provider of water-based dining, sightseeing, private charter, and transportation experiences. He oversaw and led expansion into Europe with the acquisition of the largest GB operator serving 9.8M guests each year (up from 1.6M in 2016) across 22 coveted destinations in the US, Canada, and UK.

Kenneth is the former President of Walt Disney Travel Company and Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Customer Relationship Management at Disney Destinations. In addition to his leadership positions at Disney, Kenneth was Global Head of Sales, Reservations, and Quality Assurance at Hilton Worldwide.

In his years of experience with private equity, Kenneth served with Crestview Partners, who focused on high velocity buy-and-build strategies in hospitality and entertainment. Kenneth served as the CEO for Entertainment Cruises, where under his leadership, revenue increased by 50%, impacted by both organic growth and strategic acquisitions of cruise operators in the US and Canada. One of their M&A targets was Hornblower, and that pursuit led to the combination of those portfolios by Crestview Partners.

Kenneth has a track record of transforming organizations from decentralized, domestic legacy businesses to centralized global enterprises with robust shared services of excellence, moving companies further on the trajectory of success.

In addition to his board of directors role with STAR HARBOR, Kenneth is a member of the board of directors at Sparo Corporation and a Global Executive, C-Suite Advisor, Consultant, and Senior Advisor for RevHubOC, an innovative incubation and start-up hub for social enterprise at UCI Beall Center for Applied Innovation. His philanthropic endeavors include Executive Coach and Advisory Board Director for Sudara Inc. and Sudara Freedom Fund, a unique hybrid benefit corporation (BCorp) and non-profit company endeavoring to end sexual slavery in India.

A native of Denmark, Kenneth considers himself a global citizen. He has lived all over the world, speaks nine languages, and loves history, culture, and the outdoors.