Costa Cruises has announced that Mario Zanetti has been named chief commercial officer of Costa Cruises effective immediately.

Zanetti 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, will add the role of president of Costa to his task list.

Neil Palomba, who is currently the president of Costa, will be taking the role of executive vice president and chief operating officer for Carnival Cruise Line.

Palomba will continue to oversee the resumption of Costa operations in the next 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 redesigning every aspect of our business, from our commercial strategy, to product design including our organizational structure to make sure we come back stronger when we resume operations.“ said Michael Thamm, Group CEO, Costa Group and Carnival Asia “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“.

Zanetti, in his new role will be based in Genoa and will hold the responsibility of the overall commercial operation of the company, reporting to CEO Michael Thamm, while keeping his role of President Costa Group Asia.

Over the past two decades, Zanetti has successfully held key positions with entrepreneurial and leadership capabilities.