Cunard has announced the appointment of Simon Palethorpe as SVP sales and marketing.

Palethorpe will join Southampton-based cruise line Cunard on April 11, 2016 following on his career in the food, retail and travel industries.

His long career began in consulting and then at PepsiCo, followed by senior roles at Levi Strauss and buy.com, which was later acquired by John Lewis. This acquisition formed the foundation for John Lewis’ current online business where Palethorpe served as managing director. On leaving John Lewis, He then joined the board and became group commercial director for Avis Europe.  After a stint in private equity at Terra Firma Capital Partners, Palethorpe has spent the last four years managing a portfolio of online businesses in the food, cosmetics and ticketing industries.

Carnival UK CEO David Noyes said: “This is a key year for Cunard with the remastering of the company’s flagship, Queen Mary 2. Simon’s appointment will reinforce our efforts to take the Cunard brand to new audiences around the world.”

Simon Palethorpe said: “I am delighted to be joining the team at Cunard and look forward to helping build on its exceptional work. The Cunard brand has been synonymous with the height of cruise luxury for nearly two centuries and is still as relevant for customers today as it always has been.”