Scenic Group has appointed Ken Muskat, a highly regarded and experienced cruise line executive, as managing director of Scenic Group USA.
Muskat will join the U.S. management team on December 12 in the Hollywood, Florida office and will report directly to Anna Wolfsteiner, global chief of sales and marketing.
Muskat comes to Scenic Group USA with more than 25 years of cruise industry management experience with leading travel brands, most recently serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer for MSC Cruises (USA), CEO of SkySea Cruise Line in Shanghai, China, and 18 years in a variety of leadership roles at Royal Caribbean International.
"With the exciting growth of Scenic Group, the U.S. market is a key strategic market for our company's success," Wolfsteiner said. "Ken's experience and expertise in developing teams, forging strong relationships with the trade distribution, and building brand awareness will ensure we drive demand from our valued travel advisors and consumers for our ocean and river brands. We are excited to welcome Ken to the Scenic Group family during this time of growth for our company and strong return of the cruise industry."
As the managing director-USA for Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours and Emerald Cruises, Muskat will be responsible for the oversight and development of the U.S. market with focus on sales, marketing, finance, revenue management and contact center. He will lead growth efforts within the luxury trade distribution in the U.S., Mexico, Central and South America and continue to build brand awareness and demand for Scenic Group's growing family of luxury ocean yachts and luxury river cruise ships.
With two new ocean yachts being delivered in 2023, top priorities for Muskat will include building demand through sales and marketing efforts by ensuring the sales force and trade distribution have the best tools to market and sell Scenic and Emerald as well as providing outstanding service in the company's contact center. He can be reached at [email protected].
"I am beyond excited to begin this next chapter in my career with Scenic Group," Muskat said. "I have wanted to expand into the luxury ocean, expedition and river cruise vacation segment, and I cannot think of two better brands to do this with than Scenic Luxury Cruise & Tours and Emerald Cruises. Having now personally experienced the industry-leading vacation product provided on Scenic Eclipse, I am certain there is tremendous opportunity to build brand awareness and significant demand among the trade distribution and consumers in the U.S. market as well as Mexico, Central and South America."
Muskat has also been involved at the industry level, serving two years as the chairman of CLIA's Trade Relations Committee.
Scenic Group, which includes Emerald Cruises, Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, and Mayflower Cruises & Tours, has grown over its 36-year history to include river and ocean cruises and land journeys in all seven continents. In 2019, Scenic introduced Scenic Eclipse, a 228-guest ultra-luxury ship, and plans to deliver a second yacht of the same category, Scenic Eclipse II, in 2023.
Emerald Cruises has nine branded Star-Ships offering river sailings across Europe and on the Mekong. In March 2022, the 100-guest luxury yacht, Emerald Azzurra, was the first oceangoing yacht to launch under the Emerald Cruises brand, and will be followed by a sister, Emerald Sakara, in 2023.
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