One year after his noncompete clause with Carnival Cruise Lines expired, Roberto Martinoli was named president and COO of Norwegian Cruise Line.
Martinoli stepped down as Carnival's executive vice president of operations last March, accepting a position in Monaco to consult for Apollo Management, NCL's parent company.
It has been widely rumored since then that Martinoli would take a top spot at NCL once his one-year, noncompete clause with Carnival expired. But in an interview last week, Martinoli insisted he planned to stay in Europe and work for Apollo.
"People knew about this before I did," he joked. "It was my intention to move to Europe and stay a long time. There has been a lot of speculation about me going back to Miami, but that came up later."
As president and COO, Martinoli will be responsible for all aspects of fleet operations, including the construction of the Norwegian Epic, a 4,200-passenger ship under construction in France.
He will report to CEO Kevin Sheehan, who previously also held the title of president. Sheehan will maintain responsibility for all other areas of NCL's business, with Martinoli involved, as well.
"My background is strong with operations, but that doesn't mean I won't be helping my colleagues in other areas," Martinoli said. "Our first goal is to have a very well-synchronized operation that takes into account the needs of all the departments."
Martinoli has more than 30 years' experience in the shipping and cruise business. Before Carnival, he was senior vice president of operations at Costa Cruises and a managing partner at Martinoli Group, a ship management and consulting firm.
During his year in Monaco with Apollo, Martinoli looked for new opportunities and investments for Apollo and advised the company on its shipping interests.
He helped negotiate with STX France to downsize NCL's F3-class ship order from two to one, following a dispute with the yard. He also advised Frank Del Rio, CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings, parent of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, also owned by Apollo, on Oceania's new ship under construction in Italy.