Carnival high-flier Gus Antorcha decamps to SeaWorld CEO role

Previously Carnival's chief operating officer

Antorcha was chief operating officer at Carnival Cruise Line, responsible for hotel operations, port operations, guest care, shipboard recruiting, travel operations, newbuilds and refurbishments, along with a shared services function for both the marine and hotel operations groups. He held that job since November 2017, capping more than eight years at Carnival.

Earlier jobs included EVP guest shipboard operations and SVP guest operations and services. Antorcha started at Carnival as SVP guest commerce, a new role, in April 2010 after a dozen years with the Boston Consulting Group, ultimately as a partner and managing director.

No successor

Carnival said it has no plan to replace Antorcha.

'This is a very exciting opportunity for Gus and his family and we wish him much success,' the company said in a statement to Seatrade Cruise News. 'Gus has built a strong team of leaders who have delivered great results for Carnival. Given the strength and momentum we have with the leadership team in place, we do not have plans to replace Gus and are confident that the leaders of the operations organization are prepared to continue to lead with the same level of focus and success that we are accustomed to achieving.'

Proven leader

'We are thrilled to welcome Gus to the SeaWorld team,' chairman Yoshikazu Maruyama said. 'Gus is a proven leader with broad experiences in the travel and leisure industries.

Maruyama said Antorcha helped deliver strong financial results and improved guest satisfaction at Carnival by leading efforts to optimize pricing, improve on-board marketing and communications, introduce new guest experiences and drive capital and cost efficiencies.