The CLIA Europe General Assembly, at its last meeting, decided to appoint Kyriakos Anastassiadis, Executive Chairman of Celestyal Cruises, as the next president of CLIA Europe.
Having joined the European Executive Committee of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) three years ago, Anastassiadis will succeed Pierfrancesco Vago, CEO of MSC Cruises, who has led the organization for the past three years. Effective January 1, 2017, Anastassiadis will assume a key role in representing the interests of all CLIA Europe members. The members of the CLIA Europe General Assembly unanimously thanked Pierfrancesco Vago for his work over the past three years and asked him to remain on the board.
The remaining members of the Executive Committee, as confirmed by the General Assembly, are: David Dingle, President of Carnival UK and Vice President of CLIA Europe; Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises; Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio, President of Silversea Cruises; Gavin Smith, Senior International Vice President of Royal Caribbean; and Michael Thamm, Chief Executive Officer of the Costa Group.
Anastassiadis, CEO of Celestyal Cruises, stated: “It is a great honor that the General Assembly has chosen to entrust me with the role of President of CLIA Europe. I look forward to continuing the work done so far by CLIA Europe to represent all its members and ensure the success and future of the cruise industry. We have a great team of professionals working at CLIA who are establishing an increasingly strong presence in Europe. I am firmly committed to earning the trust of all my colleagues and will work with the utmost dedication in the coming years.”.
Raphael von Heereman, Secretary General of CLIA Europe, stated: “I would like to extend a warm welcome to Kyriakos and thank Pierfrancesco for his support and assistance in expanding our effectiveness in Brussels and other European capitals in matters of government affairs, communications, and business development. As a result, we have significantly increased the value for all our cruise line members and executive partners.”.
