Royal Caribbean International senior vice president international, Dominic Paul, has been named as managing director of the Costa coffee shop chain.
He will join the Whitbread-owned high street business on June 6, succeeding current boss, Chris Rogers, who is leaving the company.
Paul joined Royal Caribbean in 2010 from BMI, where he was managing director and chief operating officer, having previously held operational roles at British Airways, Go and easyJet.
Costa has grown from under 2,500 stores in 2012 to more than 3,200.
Alison Brittain, chief executive of Whitbread, which also runs Premier Inn, said: “I am delighted that Dominic Paul will be joining Whitbread to lead Costa in its next exciting stage of growth.
“Dominic brings a wealth of experience in the travel and leisure industry, both here in the UK and overseas and his recent experience is particularly relevant for Costa’s international growth plans.
“His passion for delivering outstanding customer experiences and track record of delivering growth in customer-focused hospitality businesses makes him the perfect fit for Costa.”
Paul said: “Costa is a fantastic business with a huge amount of further potential – both in the UK and overseas – and I am extremely excited to be working with the team to take the business to the next level.”
Rogers said: “I have loved being part of Whitbread and Costa during what has been a period of enormous value creation and growth, and after 11 years, I have decided that now is the right time for change.
“Costa is a great business with tremendous people and I wish them, Alison and all my colleagues at Whitbread every future success.”