Veteran cruise executive Ken Muskat is returning to an
expanded role at MSC Cruises, where he shepherded the growth in its North
American sales force before departing for a job in China in late 2016.
Muskat will fill the new role of chief operating officer
based in MSC's Fort Lauderdale office, starting Feb. 4. He retains the title of
executive vice president, which he held before leaving to become president of
Shanghai-based SkySea Cruise Line.
SkySea was a joint venture of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
and Chinese OTA Ctrip. It operated a former Celebrity Cruises ship for
Chinese-sourced passengers before closing last year.
Rick Sasso, chairman of MSC Cruises North America, said the
cruise line's North American operation needs more executive talent to supervise
its rapid growth.
He said getting Muskat back is a "windfall" for
the company. His assignment will involve managing "many disciplines and
many people," Sasso said. "Certainly, his core strength is sales, so
you'll see a lot of Ken in most of the sales activity that goes on."
MSC said Muskat will "manage directly all travel trade‐facing
functions as well as hotel operations, contact center, revenue management, marketing
and communications."
Muskat will report to MSC Cruises North America president
Roberto Fusaro, who will continue in that role.
With the appointment of Muskat as COO, the responsibility of
overseeing the Ocean Cay and Miami terminal projects will be transferred from
Geneva headquarters to MSC's Florida office. Sasso said that Fusaro will be the
primary executive in charge of managing those projects.