WHY IT RATES: The cruise industry veteran has nearly a decade of experience working with Carnival.-Patrick Clarke, TravelPulse Senior Writer
MSC Cruises USA, the North American arm of MSC Cruises, has appointed Rubén Rodríguez as President and he will join the organization on March 18.
Mr. Rodriguez's role will be to help the business achieve further growth and strengthen the company's strategy in the U.S. region, both in terms of its commercial presence and brand awareness, and leverage long-term investments made in recent years.
Reporting to MSC Cruises' CEO Gianni Onorato in Geneva, Switzerland, Mr. Rodriguez will also oversee the development of its future terminal in Miami, Florida which is due to open in October 2022 and Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in The Bahamas which opened at the end of 2019.
The executive is experienced in the cruise business, having worked for eight years at Carnival Cruise Line. He was Executive Vice President Ship Operations between 2009 and 2015, and Executive Vice President Marketing and Guest Experience between 2007 and 2009.
Prior to joining Carnival, he was a Partner and Managing Director at management consulting firm The Boston Consulting Group.
Mr. Rodríguez more recently was CEO of Great Wolf Resorts, North America's largest owner and operator of indoor water park family resorts, between 2015 and 2017. In the last two years, he has been a senior advisor and board member to a range of international companies and private equity firms, engaged in investments as well as growth and performance improvement programs for brands in the travel and leisure sectors.
He has a degree in mechanical engineering from Princeton University, a Master's in civil engineering from the University of California and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Mr. Rodriguez will work side-by-side with Rick Sasso, Chairman MSC Cruises USA, Ken Muskat, COO, MSC Cruises USA and the rest of the local leadership team based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He replaces Roberto Fusaro, who left MSC Cruises USA at the end of January for personal reasons.
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