From 20th March 2014 Oliviero Morelli will be moving from his current role of Product Director to take up the position of Managing Director for MSC Cruises Japan. In addition, Lorenzo Diamantini will be moving from his role as Sales Director for Ireland to take up the position of Deputy Executive Director for the Anglo Saxon markets in Geneva, reporting into Giles Hawke. As Lorenzo moves to Geneva, Stephen Moffett will add Ireland into his remit as Sales Director for MSC Cruises UK and Ireland, the company said in a statement.

To maintain the strength of the UK business and position us for future growth in the UK and Ireland, Lee Strongitharm has been appointed into the newly-created role of Commercial Director for MSC Cruises UK and Ireland. Lee joins from Carnival UK and will be responsible for all areas of activity related to MSC Cruises' operations in the UK and Ireland. This follows the recent announcement that Giles Hawke is now Executive Director to the UK, Ireland and Australia. Lee takes up his new role in April.

Giles Hawke commented “Lee brings with him a very impressive track record of achieving profitable growth from the UK and Ireland marketplace in both air and cruise sectors, which will be fundamental for MSC Cruises’ future ambitions. I am delighted to welcome him to lead our very talented UK and Ireland team.

Oliviero and Lorenzo have both worked for MSC Cruises for a number of years and these promotions reflect their contribution and achievements within the UK and Irish business. They will both be missed and will be great assets to the markets in their new roles. Stephen’s broader responsibility reflects his contribution to the UK business and gives him greater scope to use his experience and expertise within the UK and Ireland.”

Sabine Ficek, Finance Director, and Alessandra Pierleoni, Marketing Director, continue in their key roles within the MSC Cruises UK and Ireland leadership structure.