Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio is a recognized leader in the cruise industry as well as a diversified investor ranging from real estate to financial interests.

He currently is Vice Chairman, responsible for Europe, of WTTC (World Tourism and Travel Council) as well as Chairman of the Monaco Chamber of Shipping. He is member of the most prominent economic forums such as the World Economic Forum at Davos, the Forbes Global CEO and the Aspen Institute and Ambrosetti Forum in Italy.

Always very active in the shipping industry he is a member of the board of Skuld in Oslo and member of the Executive Committee of CLIA (Cruise Line International Association) of which is he is past European Chairman as well.

A resident in Monaco he was recognized as outstanding member of the community by Prince Albert who appointed him Chevalier de l’Ordre de Saint Charles and Grimaldi in 2007.

Héctor José Gómez Hernández was born in Guía de Isora, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Graduated in Law, he has also a Bachelor´s Degree in Labour Sciences and a Diploma in Tourism. He has developed his professional and political career in the Canary Islands.

He has worked in the tourist private sector. In addition, he has had a distinguished career in Tenerife´s local administration, where he worked as a Guía de Isora´s councillor between 2003 and 2015 in the following fields: Local Development, Tourism and Internal Management.

Between June 2015 and June 2018, he served as a member of the Canary Parliament for Tenerife.

In July 2018, he has been appointed to serve on the National Administration as Director General of the Instituto de Turismo de España – TURESPAÑA, the Government of Spain Organization for international tourism marketing.

David Dingle was appointed Chairman of Carnival UK in October 2014, having previously held the position of CEO from June 2007 with full operating responsibility for the UK-based brands P&O Cruises and Cunard.  He entered the shipping industry in 1978 when he joined P&O’s Passenger Division.

David is Chairman of Maritime UK, a Director and Past President of the UK Chamber of Shipping, and a Board member of the European Community Shipowners’ Association (ECSA).  He is also Past Chairman of the European Cruise Council (now CLIA Europe), sits on the CLIA Europe Executive Committee as Vice Chairman and is a member of the CLIA Europe Taxation Committee. David is a Younger Brother of Trinity House and holds an Honorary Doctorate in Business from Plymouth University.

David lives in Kent with his wife and two children.

Richard J. Vogel’s professional career is strongly linked to the tourism industry, in particular cruises. Consequently, he has a perfect knowledge of both the features of the sector and its major players.

In July 2016 Vogel was appointed as the new President & CEO of Pullmantur Cruceros, a cruise line company with more than 15 years of experience at sea and focused on the Spanish and Latam market.

In the recent past, he worked for the TUI Group, where he was instrumental in the establishment of TUI Cruises – a joint venture between TUI AG and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. From its founding in 2008 until the end of 2014, he was responsible for TUI Cruises as its Chairman & CEO and under his leadership it became a prominent company within the cruise sector in Europe.

Prior to joining TUI, Vogel was responsible at Deutsche Seereederei for building up, orientation and distribution of the brand AIDA. In 9 years at AIDA Cruises as MD and SVP Marketing & Sales, he played a significant role in developing and establishing the brand.

In 2014 he was awarded by the German Travel Industry Club for “Travel Industry Manager of the Year”.

In between, he also worked as an independent consultant for the travel and cruise industry. From May 2016 to March 2018, he served as a Non Executive Director for Saga Cruises, underlining once again his extensive expertise in the cruise sector.

Douglas Prothero serves as the CEO of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. In this role, Prothero oversees all operations and strategic growth of the company. As a Founding Partner of the venture, Prothero is also responsible for relations to and with Marriott International and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

Prothero was educated in Maritime Studies and has been a ship master since 1989. He has over 35 years of professional experience in the hospitality and maritime industry, including running all facets of maritime businesses involving both commercial vessels and private yachts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, Prothero has founded numerous enterprises with lead responsibility for product development, sales, ship design, ship construction and marine operations. While Partner of a boutique investment bank, Prothero established an extensive professional network through his work advising ship owners on finance sourcing.

Prothero serves as past Chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated charity Sail Training International and the organization’s for-profit trading companies. Activities included significant industry relations with the International Maritime Organization, Nautical Institute, the International Chamber of Shipping and ports worldwide.

Massimo Colautti, born in 1965, is the founder, CEO and Owner of SIM.CO.VR, world leader company in virtual reality and real time services.

Since its foundation in 1995 SIM.CO.VR has provided professional services of engineering using new technologies, thanks to the following vision: Maximize the chances of an easy visualization and interpretation of the project in each of its components, Reduce the gap between the project as conceived and the owner expectations, Facilitate the decision making process using powerful visualization tools, Provide a service oriented towards owner satisfaction.

In 2001 he founded SIM.CO.INTERIORS, a company specialized in turn-key solutions for interior projects, now focused only on civil sector. He is also the founder and majority partner of SIM.CO.DESIGN, a company established in 2014 and specialized in interior design with more than 20 highly skilled designers and architects. Since 2014 Mr. Colautti has been also shareholder and CEO of ELLEVI INTERIORS company, which offers turn-key services and solutions for the refitting and new-building in the ship cruise sector.

Massimo Colautti is a dynamic, focused manager able to create a functional relationship with the clients and develop for them the best new business opportunities the market can offer. With more than 25 years of professional activity he is an expert in creating efficient on-target marketing strategies to strengthen his business and those of his clients to maximize their potential.

Airam Díaz Pastor is President of MedCruise, the Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports, since October 2017 and Commercial Director of the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife since 2011.

He has been Key Account Manager for Shipping Company, International Transport & Logistics of Grimaldi Group in Naples in Italy, as well as for I.C.P.L Srl - Rome Interport Logistic Platform Civitavecchia in Rome where he managed for instance, Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises warehouses. In Dakar in Senegal, he was Commercial Director of the international sales, distribution and logistics tire company Firestone-Toppneus and Market Analyst at the Commercial Department and Economic Development of the Spanish Embassy. He has a Master Degree in Law, Maritime Business and Port Management, Diploma in International Business and Marketing and Bachelor Degree in International Business Management and Marketing by the University of Wales.

As former MedCruise Board of Directors member, he was Responsible of the Association Projects & Studies, developing with PIANC “Guidelines for building cruise terminals” and coordinating MedCruise working groups related to the impact of cruise activities and the provision of LNG in the MedCruise ports.

Remco Buis has joined Carnival Maritime in July 2017 as VP Land Operations. In June 2018 he has been promoted to SVP Port Operations & Development with the focus on creating a holistic and strategic approach whereby Port Operations, Port Experience & Commerce, Port Facility Management and Port Development are working together closely to address current and future port needs. An active cooperation in the area of Port Development exists with the corporate Global Port & Destination Development Group in Miami to ensure a unified approach to port investments across Carnival Corporation. Remco is driving current and future projects and monitoring the development of port infrastructure required to support new classes of vessels.

Dutch-born Remco Buis is a studied Maritime Officer with a long track record in Marine Operations. He began his career onboard the ships of Holland America Line. In 2004 he joined Carnival Corporation & Plc as Senior Manager West Coast Port Development and later on Carnival Cruise Lines as Director of Commercial Homeport Operations. Among other things, he oversaw and directed major port development projects and port facility operations. Before joining Carnival Maritime, Remco worked with Yusen Terminals LLC as Director, Terminal Support, based in Los Angeles. He provided strategic leadership and accountability for all Terminal Support functions including project management, maintenance and rep air activities, safety environmental compliance, IT and business processes.

Achille Staiano is MSC Cruises’ Vice President, Global Sales. Based at the Company’s global Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, his main task is that of enforcing MSC Cruises’ global commercial strategies worldwide.

With the unprecedented €13.6 billion investment plan encompassing 17 next-generation cruise ships coming into service between 2017 and 2026, his role covers an increasingly expanding market of opportunities for the Company.

Mr Staiano reports to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Gianni Onorato, making sure that commercial strategies are aligned with the Company’s strategic growth.

Born in Italy, Mr Staiano has been with MSC Cruises since 1994. He spent the first 11 of these years working for MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, before transiting to MSC Cruises. Having joined the Company in Naples when the Company was solely focused on the container shipping business, he developed from an early stage crucial commercial skills that empower him in his role today.

In his years with the Company, Mr Staiano has worked across several MSC offices across the world. From Naples to New York and Geneva, where he was one of the key establishers of the Headquarters in 2009. He helped secure a smooth transition of power from the Company’s original Headquarters in Naples.

Mr Staiano is married, with two children.

A professional Hotelier with a 30 year career with Hilton International Hotels and Greek Hotel chains , Yiannis Vontas went on to become a Founding Partner of Variety Cruises with another three partners some 14 years ago and develop it into one of the leading  small ship cruise lines  world-wide.

He is in charge of the development of the cruise line, including fleet development as well as of the deployment of the fleet in over  12  destinations today.

While Greece remains Variety Cruises favorite playground, the company small ships operate scheduled cruises and charters in  the Adriatic, Egypt  & The  Red Sea , Cuba, the Caribbean   Cuba, Costa Rica & Panama, Iceland, the Seychelles, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia / Bali, West Africa, Cape Verde, Spain & Portugal. He and his partners are set to go ahead with an ambitious expansion program and add new vessels and destinations as of 2021. He  was educated in France and speaks several foreign languages.

An awarding-winning BBC playwright and BBC Young Film Maker of the Year, Susannah has had a love of all things theatrical from an early age. Having become Head of Theatre at the National Media Museum UK at age 22 Susannah ran the acclaimed Action Replay Theatre. In 1993 She formed the Peel Entertainment Group Ltd to work as a production company supplying both turnkey entertainment products and component services  to the cruise industry. Over the last 25 years Susannah has produced world-class pioneering entertainment solutions for some of the world’s biggest brands. The company specialises in award-winning live entertainment and innovative story telling through state-of- the-art, immersive visitor experiences both live and digital. Peel’s work for Marella cruises saw them win the Wave award for Best Entertainment at Sea in 2017, along with Cruise Critic best for entertainment top five every year for many of the company’s ships. Susannah has kept expanding Peel, with clients now ranging across the cruise, leisure, heritage, education and leisure sectors.

Graduated from the Merchant Navy Academy of Marseille Hugues Lamy has been working for the last 30 years in the cruise industry in charge of itineraries and port operations for companies such as Paquet, Ocean Cruise Line, Pearl Cruises, Costa Crociere, Leisure Cruises, Renaissance Cruises and Silversea Cruises. Hugues has also developed over the last 20 years a strong expertise as consultant years assisting cruise operators as well as cruise destinations.

As Director for Port Operations for V.Ships Leisure Hugues is today in charge of itineraries, port and bunker operations for cruise ships, mega yachts and special vessel in management with V.Group.

Tine Oelmann worked in the shipping business for more than 20 years. Starting working for ferry lines she changed to the German premium cruise line Peter Deilmann in 1993. After 10 years work experience in Sales & Shore Excursion department she changed to one of Germanys leading port agencies for cruise lines, Sartori & Berger. As Manager Groundhandling & Shore Excursions she developed and expanded the business continuously in 4 years handling nearly all cruise lines calling Germany. In April 2008 she joined the start up of the new branch TUI Cruises from the very beginning and is now Director Destination Management & Operations.

Mr Robinson was appointed Chief Commercial Officer, effective February 2018. Prior to joining GOH he held a similar role at PortAventura World Parks & Resorts where he was instrumental in creating the commercial strategy implementation while leading all key corporate development initiatives for international growth. Prior to this, in 2003, he established Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services as a start-up within the TUI Travel & Hotelbeds Group and over 13 years he created a successful global enterprise, growing from a one-port operation into the world’s number one global port & shore excursion provider where he became CEO & Président of the business with an anual turnover of over €350m euros. Prior to Intercruises he was Senior VP of On-board Revenue & Land Programmes & Commercial activities for Festival Cruises based in Athens, Greece. He also held senior management roles within the with First Choice and TUI Travel.

Mr Robinson holds a degree in International Travel & Tourism from the University of Manchester, UK, he has also completed a 4-week senior advanced leadership and management course at INSEAD Paris Fontainebleau and has various other senior management qualifications.

I have been in cruise industry for over 15 years. I started in Grand Circle Travel in 2002 as product manager and with the growth of the company soon took over position of Regional General Manager. I was responsible for development, set up and operation of bus and cruise tours in Balkans and Mediterranean. Later on I moved to European river cruises in the position of Director of Human resources. In 2010 I changed to Scenic cruises, company which specializes in luxury river cruises and as Senior buyer for Scenic and Emerald waterways river cruises spent next 7 years developing European river programs for its growing fleet. Scenic cruises is now expanding and building its first ocean cruise ship. Scenic Eclipse is luxury expedition yacht and in my new role as Product development manager- Ocean cruises I am responsible for set up of its worldwide cruise itineraries. My passion has always been in development of new itineraries and discovering new destinations and features to provide unique experience to our passengers. I am always excited when I can introduce  to our itineraries port or destination that is off the beaten tracks and surprise our travelers with beauty and wonder in unexpected places.

Martin Lister, Head of Itinerary Planning & Destination Experience at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, is an experienced itinerary planner who has been creating imaginative cruises for the company for over twelve years.

Martin first joined the group in 1999 as an Exporter for the Freight division, shipping containers to various destinations in Europe. After three years, he moved to Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines as Assistant Quality Manager to maintain the conformity of the company’s quality system and conduct internal audits against the ISO9001 quality standard. During this spell, Martin was awarded a Level 4 NVQ after successfully completing a two-year course in Quality Assurance.

After a further three years, a transfer to the Itinerary Planning department followed to reserve the dates of the fleet’s port calls. After only a year, and at the age of 26, Martin was promoted to Manager of the Itinerary Planning department.

In the last ten years, Martin has seen a lot of change within the company and the industry, but has shown a great deal of flexibility and creativity to keep the company’s itineraries fresh and appealing, starting with a blank canvas every new planning season. Never one to be influenced by the competition and always striving to push the boundaries, this creativity has seen Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines being awarded “Best for Itineraries” by Cruise Critic in 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Following promotion in 2017, Martin also oversees the development of destination experiences for tour and independent guests, which are created to be in line with the itinerary, delivering the cruise concept and ensuring guests have every opportunity to experience the best of the destinations visited.

Mike Hall is Head of Marketing at Cruise & Maritime Voyages, the UK’s leading and fastest growing independent cruise line. Since its launch in 2010, Mike has been responsible for the marketing of the CMV brand which has grown from zero to approaching 130,000 annual passenger carryings. He has a wealth of travel industry experience in sales, marketing and training, plus travel writing and magazine publication. Mike is well known throughout the UK travel industry, particularly in the cruise sector, and is often called upon for his views and comment.

Carmen has worked on-board in various media and revenue management roles for various cruise lines for almost 10 years, based out of Miami, before brief stints with Canon in the UK and Azkoyen in Spain.

In 2013, Carmen joined Intercruises as Shorex Manager Asia, where she led shorex operations and product development across thirteen countries. In 2015 Carmen was promoted to Global Shore Excursions Manager, in charge of global product development and operation delivery, with a focus on innovation and adoption of new technology, including Augmented & Virtual Reality equipment, geo-localization systems and eLearning tools.

Appointed in July 2017 and based in the company’s Frankfurt office, Alfredo Spadon is Silversea’s Managing Director for Europe and Asia. With his extensive knowledge of the travel and cruise business and his outstanding reputations in the European markets, Alfredo is contributing significantly to the growth of Silversea in these regions. Alfredo is Dutch by nationality but speaks five languages fluently, which means he is versatile across a number of markets. Alfredo worked for Alitalia and MSC Cruises before joining Silversea in the Managing Director, Europe and Asia, role.

Licensed as a German lawyer and a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.

Partner with law firm Dabelstein & Passehl which merged in 2018 with Arnecke Sibeth to form Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein.

Practice areas include Maritime law, English law, Maritime Employment law, advising the Cruise Industry on legal and regulatory issues and compliance, Arbitration and litigation.

Member of the Board of  GMAA (German Maritime Arbitration Association), Member of IIDM (Instituto Ibero Americano de Derecho Maritimo), Supporting Member LMAA (London Maritime Arbitration Association), WISTA (Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association).

Tomas Matesanz is considered one of the most seasoned international Public Affairs, Branding and Communications expert in the cruise and tourism industries with international background experience in all facets of communication, branding, customer experience, crisis communication, public affairs, corporate marketing, reputation management arena as well as managing budgets and overseeing ongoing operations for different companies.

He was appointed in Brussels as European Executive Director for Corporate Marketing, Communication and Public Affairs for CLIA dealing with all type of maritime regulatory and legislative issues and bodies ahead of the EU, IMO, ILO, port authorities, port associations and mainstream media creating from the scratch a Pan European communication and public affairs management structure across Europe representing the interests of cruise lines.

Tom was also Global Executive director of Communications of Silversea Cruises. In his role and assisted with the development and execution of the new Company-worldwide central Communications function approach.

He was also appointed in January of 2018 as Advisor of the Month at WTTC Advisors Board of Directors. Prior to all these achievements he spent part of his career as a top senior consultant for top line strategic consultancies. Tom is a graduate of Eastern Michigan and Columbia University.

He currently assesses Cruises News Media Group as strategic and communication advisor and teaches at JSF Travel and Tourism Business School on Digital Emotional Branding and Crisis Communication.

Virginia Lopez Valiente is the owner and CEO of Cruises News Media Group, a company dedicated to communication, marketing and promotion of the Cruise industry.

Cruises News Media Group edits the magazine Cruises News and organises annually the International Cruise Summit, the Cruise Excellence Awards, Cruise Forums and Cruise Trainings.

Virginia has spent most of her two-decade career leading departments of commercial, marketing and operations in international companies of various sectors such as transport, hospitality and consultancy.

Before founding Cruises News Media Group, she held various managerial posts in companies such as DHL, Panalpina Global Transport, Air Express International, Thomas International and IPS Consultants and was Director of Operations for Spain and Portugal at Hospitality Marketing Concepts, an American multinational of marketing and loyalty programs for luxury hotels and chains.

She has a degree in Business Administration, International Trade and Marketing and completed her executive program (PGD) in Marketing Management and Strategic Management at the British School of Management Sciences in London.

Virginia is also the publisher and Chief editor of Cruises News, the magazine.

Ornella Chacón Martel was born in 1972 in Fuerteventura (Canary Islands). She has a degree in Architecture from the School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM), completing her academic background in the year 2000 with Urban Planning as her specialist area. During the following years she worked in the private sector for a family company of prefabricated building materials where she was co-manager. In 2003 she worked as an Architect in the City Council of Puerto del Rosario. Between 2011 and 2015 she worked as Town Planning councilor of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura, at which time she developed the Insular Urban Development Plan. From mid-2015 to the end of 2016 she was the Minister of Public Works and Transport of the Government of the Canary Islands, where she held the Presidency of the Canary Islands Public Ports Authority and she was a member of the Board of Directors of the Port Authority of Las Palmas. Since July 2018, she is president of the State Ports Public Organization.

Iván González is the Tourist Information Director in Madrid Destino, Madrid City DMO. Bachelor of Law and postgraduate training in Marketing and Commercial Management, began his professional career in the tourism sector in 2003 with Meliá Hotels. In 2007 he joined the Public Society for Management of Innovation and Tourism Technology (SEGITTUR) as Sales Manager, joining in 2009 the Madrid DMO.

He is responsible for the Tourist Information Offices network and also under his ​​responsibility are Quality, Accessibility and Sustainability in tourism in Madrid, were we can highlight the following achievements:

• Creation of the Madrid Tourism Intelligence Center, funded with ERDF funds

• Management of a deep restructuring in the Tourist Information Department which involved a great reduction of in-house personnel, improving ISO quality audit score from 7,84 (2014) to 9,50 (2018).

• Re-opening of Faro de Moncloa, iconic viewpoint of Madrid closed for more than four years, due to architectural and administrative issues.

• Modernization of the Madrid Tourist Information Offices Network. Project also funded with ERDF funds, selected as example of "Good practice in management of European funds in Spain" in 2015.

Chris Theophilides was born in 1971. After attending the English School in Nicosia he graduated from Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey, in 1995 attaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics. He continued his studies at the same institution to attain a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) in 1997 with a concentration in accounting prior to becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in 1999.

From 1998 to 2006 he was employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) advancing to Senior Manager in Corporate Finance specializing in merger & acquisition transactions, business reorganisations, strategic options analysis and business valuations. During his tenure at PwC he developed numerous strategic options studies for clients assessing the competitive environment, identifying opportunities and evaluating the strategic fit of proposed investments. In 2006 he was awarded with the Advanced Corporate Finance Qualification (CF) by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW). He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC).

In 2006 he joined Louis Cruises as a Senior Manager of Business Development focusing on the development of new projects and business opportunities for the company as well as overseeing the relationship with key corporate accounts such as long term charters. In October 2014 he was appointed to Vice President, Strategy and Business Development for the newly established Celestyal Cruises, adding to his portfolio the oversight of the company’s Marketing activities. In January 2017 he served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Celestyal Cruises tasked with the oversight of Commercial activities as well as Business Development initiatives leading up to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Celestyal Cruises in July 2018.

Mário Ferreira is a Portuguese entrepreneur, which currently owns more than 30 companies in several countries and in different sectors, namely: Cruising (River and Oceans), Heli Tourism, Robotics , Hotels, Car Parks, Real Estate Investments, Home Textiles, Education in primary schools, Pharmaceutics and Insurances, among others. Graduated in Tourism Management by Universidade Lusófona, he also completed the Advanced Management Program at IESE, Universidád de Navarra, he is the Chairman of Mystic Invest, a financial holding that integrates in its business portfolio several successful tourism companies. Throughout his career Mário Ferreira has honored with several civic, business and governmental awards and recognitions, and he’s, since 2003, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Estonia in Porto. More recently, Mário Ferreira became one of the “sharks” in the Portuguese version of the acclaimed entrepreneurial TV show “Shark Tank”.

From college drop-out to the founder of two multi-million-pound businesses, Robin is testament to what entrepreneurial flair, an innovative approach and good old fashioned hard graft can achieve.

Beginning his working life as an apprentice draftsman for a construction business, Robin soon realised he wasn’t cut out to spend his days drawing houses, so turned to his passion for travel to find job inspiration.  Having found a sales job at a company who sold holidays via Teletext, Robin quickly learnt the ropes and, realising he could make more money working for himself, he and three other colleagues decided to form a breakaway travel agency.

After a successful first year and full of ambition, Robin decided to go it alone to set-up ski and cruise specialists, Fast Track Holidays, in 2001. The company was hugely successful and was bought by Virgin Holidays in 2007.

Having witnessed the growing popularity of cruising, Robin launched Imagine Cruising in 2011, selling bespoke, tailor-made cruise holidays, many of which feature unique and exclusive events. The success of Imagine Cruising attracted the attention of The Emirates Group who acquired a majority stake in 2015. Imagine Cruising now operates in the UK, South Africa, Dubai and has west coast and east coast offices in Australia.

In 2018, Imagine Cruising will turnover almost £200 million selling over 60,000 cruise holidays.

Robin says: “With so many opportunities to grow now being available, the question is no longer ‘Can we find more opportunities?’ but rather ‘Which ones shall we embrace?’”.

Captain Michael McCarthy is the current Chairman of Cruise Europe, former Commercial Manager of the Port of Cork Company Ireland, and Past President of the Irish Institute of Master Mariners. He is a Class 1 Master Mariner and a University College Cork postgraduate in Management and Marketing. Michael has set up a private consultancy company  having built up an extensive knowledge of the port and shipping sector over the last 47 years including EU Cruise Initiatives and in the private sector as a former Director/ P&I Marine Surveyor with Sea Service, Marine Cargo Insurance Surveyors.

Growing up in Norway in a family with generations of shipping traditions, the passion and interest in the sea is something Ulf Henrick is born with. Already as a teenager, he was ocean racing with Gjert Wilhelmsen, one of the Founders of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, and recalls how Gjert always shared stories from the early days of RCCL. One might just speculate if the passions for the cruise industry already was born then.

However, the track to the idea of forming Norwegian Yacht Voyages has gone through some different industries all around the world, but with his family traditions and background from both cruise and traditional shipping, writing Norwegian cruise industry has always been in his heart.

Spending close to 15 years in California his attention was for innovative, high-tech companies both in the US and in Asia. He has a proven track record from several start-ups within the information technology industry, from innovative software development, digital & social media management, brand-building, and consumer communication management.

Ulf Henrick has more than 20 years of executive experience designing, building and delivering innovative, high-tech companies and solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. He has been the central executive in shaping strategic directions and positioning for several successful startups in Europe, Asia, and the US. His vast experience from outside the cruise industry and media-savviness has already shown us a lot of new thinking and new approaches in an industry which is full of old traditions. In his free time, Ulf Henrick´s passion for the sea has made him an accomplished and experienced Yachtsman with several ocean crossings logged. All this time at sea, having seen first hand what is happening to our oceans, has developed a personal focus on sustainability.

This is something that he has transferred into the the core of all the Norwegian Yacht Voyages business concepts.

His versatility with the perfect combination of business skills and passion makes him the natural choice to lead and develop Norwegian Yacht Voyages into a new Ultra Luxury Expedition Brand with an extreme focus on sustainability.

After a period in the bank business in London, Juan Rodero started his proffesional career in the cruise and travel industry in 1999 creating the company Cruiseland as GSA of several Carnival Corp brands, as Cunard, Princess, Seabourn and Holland America Line in Spain and Portugal.

Since 2006 he is Managing Director of Un Mundo de Cruceros, the main cruise operator in the spanish market with offices in Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon as well as presence in France.

In 2017 he launched StarClass Cruceros, the only brand specialized in Luxury and Expeditions cruises in Spain.

Massimo Brancaleoni, aged 51, born in Genoa, is Senior Vice President World Wide Sales of Costa Cruises. He has grown a considerable experience in the company, developing multiple skills in finance, sales & marketing and strategic management. Massimo joined Costa in Paris as a Controller in 1997 and was subsequently tasked with Inventory Control and Yield Management in Genoa. In 2005 he was appointed Vice President of the newly established Pacific Asia Operations (PAO) Division, with the ambitious objective of launching Costa in the Far East, with focus on China, a global “first” for the cruise industry.   After successfully completing the start-up of Costa in Asia, Massimo was appointed VP of World Wide Sales Services at the Genoa headquarters in 2009, while in April 2013 he was appointed General Manager of Iberocruceros and Costa Cruises in Spain.

Steven Young is the VP Port & Shore Operations for Carnival UK. In this position he is responsible for port operations, ground services, passenger turnaround and air transfer operations. Responsibilities include Port, Agency and Government relationships worldwide for both the P&O and Cunard brands. Steven is closely involved with Itinerary planning and is a member of the CLIA Europe Ports and Destination Committee.

Steven’s career spans over 30 years in the Ports and Marine industries having also worked as Harbour Master and Port Manager/Director in a number of international ports, including the Port of Southampton in the UK and Sydney Ports Corporation in Australia.

A Master Mariner, Steven started his career with P&O Princess before moving ashore in the early 1990’s to further a career in port management.

Ukko Metsola is Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s Vice President for government relations in Europe and Asia-Pacific. In this role he is responsible primarily for the development, planning and execution of RCL’s policies and objectives involving legislative and regulatory matters.

He reports to President & COO Adam Goldstein. Metsola has served RCL with similar responsibilities since 2007, first as an outside consultant to the company. He started in his current position at the beginning of 2016.

Ukko is a Finnish citizen who started his political career as Senior Adviser in the Finnish Parliament and then in the Prime Minister’s Office (Helsinki).

He is a graduate from the University of Helsinki and from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he studied with a Fulbright scholarship. He is based in Brussels, Belgium, with his wife and four sons.

After graduating from high school in 1984 Alex Napp, a native Hamburger, attended an apprenticeship at the Hamburg based shipowner H. Schuldt and graduated in 1988 with the German shipbrokers license specialized in tramp shipping. Directly after the graduation H. Schuldt offered him to work in the US based branch offices ECAM of the own container liner services DEPPE LINE in Houston, Texas where Alex Napp worked until 1990. During this time he worked as manager sales & marketing and controlling as well as attending all vessels locally as port agent. From 1991 till 1993 Alex Napp became head of marketing and sales at the Hamburg based liner agency D. Fuhrmann, Nisslle & Günther Nflg., Hamburg specialized in container traffics world wide. At the end of 1993 Alex Napp joined the Kiel based port agency network Sartori & Berger as head of the Kiel Canal division. Besides his duties at the Kiel Canal Alex Napp established Sartori & Berger as, at that time, leading German cruise agency and became general manager in 2000. In 2009 Alex Napp became managing director. In 2010 Alex Napp joined as managing partner the leading German port agency network Peter W. Lampke (PWL Group) headquartered in Hamburg. PWL is a specialized service provider to all fields of shipping with own divisions in chartering, tramp agency, freight forwarding, stevedoring, liner agencies and project cargo handling and of course cruise services from basic clearance to ground and shore excursions. Today PWL handles a majority of cruise lines calling German ports. With around 220 employees the PWL Group is presently one of the leading German service providers in shipping handling around 4500 calls per year in all German ports and the Kiel Canal.

Executive with over twenty years’ experience in Management Consulting (FMCG, Fashion and Retail) and in Tourism. Main experiences in Strategy, Sales & Marketing, Analytics & Big Data, Customer Experience and Operations.

Proven experience in multinational environments, cross-sector teams and large operations, direct responsibility for offices and operations all over the world.

At Costa Crociere SpA, he currently holds the position of Worldwide Channels Strategy & Commercial Operations - Trade Development, New Channels discovery and Commercial Operations for all countries where Costa operates.

He previously held other positions, including Corporate Commercial Planning and Business Development and Director Worldwide Sales Services.

Previously he was a Partner of Accenture Management Consulting CRM practice for over 13 years, where he developed his expertise in CRM, Commercial and Financial Reporting & Planning and Analytics and Innovation.

Sacha Rougier has been Managing Director of Cruise Gate Hamburg GmbH (CGH), a subsidiary of the Hamburg Port Authority, since 2015. As operator of the three cruise terminals (Altona, HafenCity and Steinwerder) CGH oversees terminal operation, berthing allocation, cruise development and terminal planning.

Previous to her employment at CGH, she worked for the Port of Marseille where she held various positions in marketing and cruise development. She holds a Master Degree in Change Management and a Bachelor degree in European Studies (economics, German and Spanish).

Sacha is playing an active role in Hamburg´s cruise development as member of the Board of trustees of the Cruise Cluster “Hamburg Cruise Net” and of the Board of Directors of Hamburg Cruise Center. She furthermore is co-lecturer on Port Economics & Business at the University for Maritime & Air Transport Antwerp (C-MAT).

In 2017, she took over the Chair of the IAPH Cruise Committee. Her intention is to establish a capital benchmark between ports regarding the sustainable development goals (SDG) of the World Port Sustainable Program (WPSP). She became a council member for Cruise Europe in April 2018. Herewith Hamburg will take on an active role in promoting the Northern European/Atlantic Region.

In 2017, she was also appointed in the Supervisory Board of the new Hamburg Landmark Elbphilharmonie.

Kevin Bubolz has been appointed Managing Director Europe of Norwegian Cruise Line in March 2017. In this position he assumes responsibility for all sales, marketing and public relations activities of Norwegian Cruise Line in Continental Europe, Scandinavia as well as Finland and reports directly into Harry Sommer, Executive Vice President, International Business Development, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

Bubolz has a successful track record in the travel and cruising industry and is a passionate crusader himself. He started his career in 1997 working as a travel agent at TUI Leisure Travel GmbH in Kiel and soon transitioned into the cruising industry by joining Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. In 2005 Kevin Bubolz moved on to Norwegian Cruise Line‘s European branch office in Wiesbaden, Germany, where he has since worked in various marketing, sales and revenue management positions. Most recently before being appointed Managing Director of the international cruise line, Bubolz served as Vice President Commercial and Business Planning at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, the umbrella company of Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

Kevin Bubolz was born and raised in the German port city Kiel, right at the Baltic Sea. He is married and has two daughters, who both share his passion for travels and especially for cruising.

Gianluca Suprani is MSC Cruises’ Head of Global Port Development & Shore Activities, as well as member of the CLIA Global Port & Destinations Committee. Mr Suprani leads MSC Cruises’ strategic engagement through the establishment of shore excursions, shore activities and port development initiatives, while heading over 200 employees ashore and on-board.

His cruising career took off at Costa Cruises in 1994 where he began in Italy, then worked in Miami, the Caribbean and finally settled as a Costa representative in Havana, Cuba. After leaving Costa Cruises in 1998, he remained in Cuba as Managing Director of Silares Terminales Caribe, operator of the cruise terminal in Havana and Santiago de Cuba.

Following this, his professional experience continued in Madrid with tour operator Pullmantur, where he worked as Director of Port Operations, Shore Excursions and Bunker. As a member of Pullmantur’s Executive Committee, Mr Suprani was involved in several innovative South American itinerary projects. In 2010, he joined MSC Cruises as Corporate Shore Excursion Manager.

At MSC Cruises, he is spear-heading the development of the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in The Bahamas. He has also led major customer research initiatives and continues to establish efficient ground operations. He aims to continue growing MSC’s leadership for all shore operations.

Ana Belén Fernández joined Pullmantur Cruceros in February 2017 as Marketing Director with the goal of designing and leading her department’s strategy on a global scale. A highlight of her other responsibilities is her work promoting activities aimed at consolidating and strengthening the attributes that make Pullmantur Cruceros a unique option in the market.

Creativity and innovation are the pillars underpinning her line of work, which are key when connecting the consumer and the company.

An expert in defining, creating and constructing brand strategy, Fernández took on highly important projects and national and international campaigns for 14 years in The Coca-Cola Company. During this period in her career, she excelled in her work on repositioning, innovating and promoting of diverse product lines.

Previously, for over five years, her professional career was linked to the Carrefour Group, where, as the International Product Manager, she was responsible for the positioning and coordination of products on offer.

She holds a degree in Economics from the University of Navarra, an MBA from IESE and a Master’s degree in Internet Business from the Institute of Internet Development (ISDI).

Keith is the Director of Blue Chip Tourism, an independent consultancy specialising in cruise tourism, and the links between culture & tourism.  More information can be found at www.bluechiptourism.com

Prior to setting up in consultancy, Keith was Liverpool City Council’s Head of Tourism and the city’s lead officer on the development & delivery of its cruise terminal from 2000-2012. This involved taking the terminal from conception through to feasibility, development, funding applications, statutory permissions, construction, recruitment, operational planning, launch marketing, opening and subsequent award winning operational success with consistently high customer satisfaction ratings.

Under Keith’s management, total visits to Liverpool grew from 4 ships with 2,000 passengers in 2005 to 30 ships, 32,000 passengers and over 100,000 Gross Tonnage in 2012.  Liverpool was a mixed use berth and hosted numerous successful Tall Ship and Naval visits including the Centenary of Royal Navy Flying which attracted 15,000 visitors.  Keith also led the successful application to add turnaround cruising to the port of call operation.  He was responsible for a number of major events working with Cunard and Azamara to deliver memorable experiences for passengers and spectators.

Since leaving Liverpool, Keith has worked as a consultant to the Ports of Hull & Holyhead and advised North Ayrshire on the prospects for growth for the Isle of Arran.  He has also continued his operational involvement in cruising, delivering shore excursion programmes in Liverpool, Holyhead & Newcastle

Keith has an Honours Degree in German from the University of Hull and a Master’s Degree in Leisure & Tourism from the University of Gent.  He is also a qualified Blue Badge Guide.

Chris Coates is the Group Commercial Director of CMV and a stakeholder in the business having joined the cruise industry back in 1983.

During his early career Chris has also worked for CTC Cruise Lines and Astor Cruises in various management positions.

Chris was a co-founder of Cruise & Maritime Services launched in 1996 to provide ship brokerage and general sales agency services before being acquired and merged into the new CMV Group of Companies in 2011.

Chris is based in the UK with key responsibilities covering global programme and itinerary planning, pricing models and all sales & marketing related commercial activities with a strong yield focus.

As an executive board member, Chris is part of the international strategic planning, brand and fleet development team also working closely with the hotel and product depts.

CMV Biog

Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) is Britain’s leading independently owned cruise line launched in 2010 and part of the Global Maritime Group employing 3,900 shore side and sea staff.

The introduction of Vasco da Gama in 2019 will increase international Group capacity to 130,000 ocean cruise passengers.

CMV’s head office is based in Purfleet (UK). Apart from the core UK market, cruise operations have also been established in Australia, Mexico and Germany under the TransOcean brand uniquely delivering home market products with a supporting sales office in the USA.

The six-ship ocean fleet comprises Columbus (1550pax) Magellan (1452pax), Marco Polo (800pax), Astor (578pax), Astoria (550pax) and Vasco da Gama (1260pax) with a total lower bed capacity of 6,190 berths.

Major source markets include the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, North America and Mexico with continued growth very much on the radar.

David Selby is a Cruise Industry Management Consultant and owner of the cruise research and representation consultancy Travelyields Ltd. A former managing director of Thomson Cruises – now known as Marella Cruises – he has since 2015 been chosen by CLIA as a regular moderator and contributor to its Executive Partner summits and events in Europe, the U.S. and Canada and China. David and Travelyields work with port and destination clients across Europe and have provided research and insight to clients additionally in North and Central America. He is visiting lecturer in Travel and Tourism and the University of Hertfordshire and is a Governor of a local school for children with learning difficulties.

Marc Carbonell is a search and rescue team member of SOS Méditerranée onboard the Aquarius.

From a young age, he has been involved in various humanitarian projects. Soon became a rescue swimmer and worked for different organizations.

He studied at the Nautical School of Barcelona and his passion for the ocean guided him to become a commercial diver in the Pacific.

After a long experience overseas working in different marine fields, especially in conservation and research, his concern for the humanitarian crises in the Mediterranean Sea, led him to join the Aquarius in early 2018, where he worked in several missions off coast Libya.

Luis the Carvalho is the CEO of Bermello Ajamil & Partners Europe (B&A Europe), the worldwide leader in port and destination development for cruise based in Copenhagen, Denmark.

B&A Europe is currently involved on several projects involving Northern European, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean, Atlantic, Indian Ocean and West African regions.

Luis started his career in 1986 with Premier Cruise Lines and RCCL in Miami. He then spent 12 years with Crystal Cruises, being their LA based Corporate Port Coordinator overseeing shore side operations globally while inspecting new ports and destinations.

From 2005 on he served as: National Director Cruise Operations in Ultramar Express / TUI Spain based in Barcelona, Director of Cruise Operations in Tumlare Corporation and Director of Cruise Operations in Kuoni Destination Management based in Copenhagen.

After gathering knowledge and experience from all angles of the industry he started his own consulting firm Consult DC in 2009 to better serve the global cruise community and in 2013 merged Consult DC with top US 200 architecture firm Bermello Ajamil & Partners Inc. to form B&A Europe.

Luis is also a regular organizer, key speaker and moderator of international conferences, cruise seminars and workshops.

In 2016 Luis de Carvalho won the Seatrade Supplier of the Year Award with Bermello Ajamil & Partners Europe.