Mario Zanetti (pictured right) has been named CCO of Costa Cruises with immediate effect.
He was most recently president of Costa Group Asia, and helped lead the company’s turnaround in China from the company’s Shanghai office
Michael Thamm, Group CEO, Costa Group and Carnival Asia (pictured left), will become Costa President.
In addition, current President, Neil Palomba will become Executive Vice President and COO of Carnival Cruise Line.
Palomba will continue to oversee the resumption of Costa operations in the coming weeks to ensure a smooth transition while progressively taking over the new responsibilities, the company said.
“The current pause in our cruise operations has given us the opportunity of re-designing every aspect of our business, from our commercial strategy, to product design including our organisational structure to make sure we come back stronger when we resume operations,” said Thamm. “We all thank Neil for his outstanding contribution to the success of Costa Cruises in the past six years and wish him the best for his new role within the Carnival family of brands.”
In his new role, Zanetti who will be based in Genoa, will be responsible for the overall commercial operations of the company, reporting to Thamm, while keeping his role of President Costa Group Asia.
Carnival Corp has also announced that Gus Antorcha, currently Carnival Cruise Line COO, has been appointed President of Holland America Line, effective immediately.
An industry veteran with over nine years of service at Carnival Cruise Line, Antorcha has held several key leadership roles supporting the brand’s continued growth.
Prior to becoming COO, Antorcha served as Carnival Cruise Line’s Executive Vice President, guest services, responsible for on board operations, and Senior Vice President, guest commerce.
