American Queen Voyages CEO - An Entrepreneurial Journey

John has been actively involved in the passenger vessel industry for over 30 years. Beginning his career in the sport fishing industry, he has worked in a variety of industries serving commercial fishing, offshore oil support, dinner cruise and excursions, casino boats and ferry transportation.

After serving as Director of Marine Operations for a fleet of dinner cruise vessels, he founded HMS Global Maritime, a full-service marine management company, growing it from a single employee to a staff of more than 700.  He moved the business from California to New Albany, created an overnight cruise division, and implemented a strategy to focus on the river cruising industry.

Waggoner added consulting services, ferry operations and a government services division, together operating more than 100 vessels around the world. He has rebranded his American Queen Steamboat Company to American Queen Voyages, expanding the company’s cruise and service offerings from domestic river cruises to exotic coastal and other waterway destinations.
Waggoner has served as chairman of the California Marine Academy Foundation Board and was appointed to the National Academy of Sciences Marine Board. He has been involved with the National Passenger Vessel Association, the National Transportation Safety Board Go Team, and the Kentucky Derby Festival.
He says he gets to live his childhood dream of “being able to play with boats the rest of my life so I will never have to grow up and get a real job.”