Theodora Riga was elected as the President of MedCruise, the association announced in a press release.

Also serving as the Chief Commercial Officer and Director of Strategic Communications at the Port of Thessaloniki in Greece, Riga was appointed during the 65th MedCruise General Assembly held in Malaga, Spain.

The meeting also appointed the next Board of Directors, including Anne-Marie Spinosi from Corsica Ports as the Senior Vice President and Laura Cimaglia from the Port of Taranto as the Vice President.

“I firmly believe in the value of collective action, or as we say in Greek, it is in unity, we stand strong,” Riga said.

“With a vision to continue the work we have done so well, we are going to upgrade our activities and achieve even more, together, while ensuring the responsible development of cruising and benefiting all Mediterranean ports and destinations,” she added.

Riga also said that the collective actions of our members and synergies with other associations and institutions, such as the UNTWO, ESPO and AIVP, MedCruise can maximize the economic, environmental and socially sustainable development of ports.

Theodora Riga succeeds Figen Ayan, Chief Officer at Galataport Istanbul, who will continue her involvement with the Association as Honorary President and elected Board of Directors member.

In addition to electing its new President, MedCruise also announced the new Board of Directors (BoD) for the term 2024-2027.

Elected members include Anne-Marie Spinosi from Corsica Ports, France, who was elected Senior Vice President, and Laura Cimaglia from the Port of Taranto, Italy, who was elected Vice President.

Other elected board members include Valeria Mangiarotti from Sardinian Ports, Italy; Cristina De Gregori from the Port of Genoa/Savona, Italy; Luz Marina Espiau Moreno from the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain; Joško Šupe from the Port of Šibenik Authority, Croatia; Dario Barbarić from the Dubrovnik Port Authority, Croatia; Maria Belkoleva from the Port of Burgas, Bulgaria; Lorenzo Vera Franco from the Port Authority of Motril, Spain; Genoveva Climent from the Port Authority of Tarragona, Spain; Figen Ayan from Galataport Istanbul, Turkey; Kyriaki Kampana from the Heraklion Port Authority, Greece; Gilson Cruz from the Ports of Cabo Verde, Cabo Verde; and Angelos Vlachos from Kavala Port Authority, Greece.