Ribeiro to lead Carnival port/destination group, Israel remains key

The changes are effective June 1.

Israel, a 30-year Carnival Corp. veteran who has led global port and destination development for 14 years, will continue providing strategic policy and operational guidance to Ribeiro and the leadership team.

40 port projects worldwide

Throughout the years, Carnival Corp. has made significant investments in approximately 40 port projects worldwide. Ribeiro takes over responsibility for managing worldwide port and destination strategic opportunities for the company and its brands and will be leading a global team focused on building and maintaining strong partnerships with local ports, governments, businesses and communities to help cultivate appealing destination and itinerary options.

A 14-year Carnival veteran, Ribeiro for the past two years has been overseeing operations strategy and managing strategic business transformation and operational initiatives. She has played a leadership role in the operational restart of the Carnival brands after the pandemic shutdown.

She was instrumental in re-establishing access to key global ports, including helping Carnival Corp. and its brands navigate complex and dynamic travel restrictions and protocols around the world. Ribeiro also has been leading efforts to optimize the global bandwidth connectivity footprint for the corporation's fleet.

'Ideal leader'

'Renata has the perfect combination of global operations experience and strategic management consulting expertise, making her the ideal leader to continue advancing our involvement in ports and destinations, including many of the more than 700 ports worldwide we already visit,' said Josh Weinstein, chief operations officer for Carnival Corp. 'With her proven leadership record across various commercial and operational roles, and her exceptional talent for seizing new opportunities, Renata will be invaluable in helping us extend our legacy of global port development that diversify our cruise offerings and enhance the overall vacation experience for our guests, while creating positive economic impacts in the local communities we visit and serve around the world.'

Supports David Candib, Michel Nestour, Marie McKenzie, Gisella Mazzilli

Ribeiro will support a seasoned team including David Candib, VP global ports and destinations development, who leads initiatives in the Americas region and oversees six company-operated ports in the Americas, and Michel Nestour, VP, EuroMed port development, who leads port development and operations in the EuroMed region and the Arabian Gulf.

The team also includes Marie McKenzie, VP global ports & Caribbean government relations, who leads government relations in the Caribbean and Central America, and Gisella Mazzilli, VP finance & accounting and CFO for the group.

Industry legend Israel

'Giora is a true industry legend who has been at the forefront of shaping and innovating cruising for more than three decades, which has played a key role in cruising becoming one of the world's most popular vacation options,' Weinstein said.

During three decades with Carnival Corp, he has developed and expanded ports and destinations around the globe — perhaps more than any other single person in cruising.

Israel was the driving force behind iconic developments including Long Beach Cruise Terminal, Cozumel Cruise Terminal, Grand Turk Cruise Center, Mahogany Bay in Roatán, Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic and the HELIX cruise center in Barcelona, in addition to the new Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal, the first dedicated twin-terminal cruise port in the region.

Weinstein said that while Israel is stepping away from day-to-day port and destination development, 'we are very fortunate to have access to his tremendous expertise and knowledge as he takes on his new senior advisor role with Carnival Corporation.'

Ribeiro's experience

Before her role with Carnival Corp., Ribeiro worked for 12 years at Carnival Cruise Line, most recently as SVP destination development for a broad portfolio of Caribbean destinations, overseeing innovation and product development in partnership with the corporation's global port and destination development group. She also served as SVP guest commerce, managing onboard revenue businesses after working for six years as VP fleet deployment and demand strategy. Ribeiro joined Carnival in 2008 as a senior director in guest experience innovation.

Previously, she worked for one of Brazil's largest cosmetics companies, Natura & Co., as director of commercial innovation and international expansion, leading the international expansion in Europe and the US. Ribeiro began her career as a strategic management consultant, working for more than 10 years at The Boston Consulting Group and Strategy & Co. and specializing in strategy, business development and operations.

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