MSC Cruises, the Geneva based cruise shipping companny, has appointed Janet Parton in the newly created role of Head of Sales for the UK and Ireland.

Parton will start at the beginning of July and will be responsible for overseeing the cruise line’s sales, distribution and trade strategies in both markets. She joins after seven years at Carnival UK where she was most recently Senior Sales Manager for trade business for P&O Cruises and Cunard.

MSC Cruises’ Executive Director UK, Ireland and Australia Giles Hawke commented: “Janet is an excellent addition to our UK and Ireland leadership team and will be leading our sales organisation through a period of significant growth planned for the brand.”

Parton, who has more than 16 years’ experience in the travel industry, has extensive knowledge of the trade. Previous roles include field sales manager at Carnival UK and as a store manager for Thomas Cook.

She added: “I am really excited about working with the MSC Cruises team and can’t wait to get started. The company has ambitious plans and a fantastic product that deserves to be known far and wide. My focus is increasing brand awareness by maximising our support to travel agents.”