Industry veteran Manfred Ursprunger will cover a newly created executive position at Costa Crociere effective November 1. The new position will report directly to the president, Gianni Onorato.
As executive vice president of fleet operations he will supervise the technical operations and the cruise operations departments being responsible for all the technical, marine hotel operations and guest services for the entire Costa Cruises fleet composed by 14 ships in service plus two under constructions to be delivered in 2011 and 2012.
His responsibility will be to give a further development to technical innovations both for newbuildings and the existing ships; find new ways to confirm and enhance Costa's sustainability commitment; look for product innovation to maintain and reinforce the positioning of the Costa brand and the high customer satisfaction rate (98 percent).
Ursprunger is a veteran in the leisure and cruise industry and a senior executive with a track record of leadership within diverse, international organizations. He built up his background experience covering various management positions in the hospitality industry for 10 years. Then in the last two decades he served as director hotel and food and beverage for Crystal Cruises; vice president of hotel operations and services for Costa cruise lines; senior vice president total guest satisfaction for Celebrity Cruises inc.; prresident and CEO for Renaissance Cruises Inc; consultant for Silversea Cruises and Holland America Line; senior vice president of operations for Norwegian Cruise Line, NCL America and Orient Line; CEO for Nakheel Hotels and Leisure in Dubai.
Ursprunger, married with two children, graduated from Agricultural Business School in Vienna Kagran Austria and attended Hotel Management Apprentice Program in Tirol and Linz, Austria. He also attended various programs in North America, UK and Austria, ranging from Creativity and Innovation at Anderson UCLA to Leadership & Management at J&W and International Business programs.
Costa's fleet has a total of 14 ships, offering the chance to visit some 250 separate destinations in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean, South America, the United Arab Emirates, the Far East and the Indian Ocean. Two more new ships have been ordered from Fincantieri and will be delivered by 2012.
Costa Crociere S.p.A. is a member of Carnival Corporation & plc.