Pier Luigi Foschi To Retire as CEO of Costa Group
Pier Luigi Foschi To Retire as CEO of Costa Group; Will Continue To Serve as
Chairman of Costa and on the Board of Directors at Carnival Corporation & plc
MIAMI, April 23, 2012 -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK)
and its subsidiary Costa Crociere have announced that Pier Luigi Foschi will
retire as the cruise operator's chief executive officer effective July 1, 2012.
Foschi, 65, will remain as chairman and a managing director of the Costa group
and remain on the board of directors of Carnival Corporation & plc.
Michael Thamm, currently serving as president of Germany-based AIDA Cruises,
has been appointed CEO of the Costa group, which includes Costa Cruises and
AIDA Cruises, as well as Spanish cruise operator Ibero Cruises. Thamm will
also serve on Costa's board of directors. Thamm will relocate to Genoa, Italy,
and in his new role will report to Costa's board of directors, which includes
Micky Arison and Howard Frank, Carnival Corporation & plc's chairman and CEO,
and vice chairman and chief operating officer, respectively.
The moves are part of a long-term succession plan which included the scheduled
retirement of Foschi once he reached the age of 65.
Longtime AIDA senior executive Michael Ungerer has been named AIDA Cruises'
president and Gianni Onorato will continue in his role as president of the
Costa Cruises brand.
Foschi joined Costa Crociere in 1997 and was elected chairman of the board in
2000. Over the past 15 years, Foschi has played an integral role in the
company's tremendous growth and success while building upon its distinction as
Europe's number one cruise operator. In his role as Costa's chairman, Foschi
will continue to oversee the company's government relations, matters related to
the Costa Concordia accident and spearhead a number of strategic projects.
"Pier has made it known for some time that he intended to retire once he turned
65 and today's announcement is part of our longtime succession plan that allows
us to tap into our talented management team to find qualified individuals to
oversee our brands," Arison said. "Pier has developed Costa into a very
successful and profitable organization and we wish to thank him for his many
years of dedicated service. At the same time, Michael has done a superb job
managing AIDA Cruises and we have every confidence that Michael will continue
these efforts at the helm of Costa," Arison added.
All of the various appointments are subject to approval by Costa's board.
Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise company in the world, with a
portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia,
comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises,
Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, P&O Cruises
(Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK).
Together, these brands operate 98 ships totaling 195,000 lower berths with 10
new ships scheduled to enter service between May 2012 and March 2016. Carnival
Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the
leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New
York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group
in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
SOURCE Carnival Plc
CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT, US/UK, Jennifer de la Cruz, +1-305-599-2600, ext.
16000, or INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT, US/UK, Beth Roberts, +1-305-406-4832,
both of Carnival Corporation & plc
Latest directors dealings
- 3 hours ago Johnson Matthey
- 4 hours ago Galliford Try
- 4 hours ago Galliford Try
- 4 hours ago Centrica
- 5 hours ago Smith & Nephew