Carnival Cruise Lines COO Gus Antorcha has been named as the new CEO of SeaWorld Entertainment.

Antorcha has worked at Carnival Corporation – the world's largest leisure travel company – for more than eight years and prior to that was partner and managing director at Boston Consulting Group, advising clients on travel and leisure.

Antorcha replaces former CEO Joel Manby, who stepped down last year. Manby’s resignation triggered other executives to also leave positions at the company, including then chief creative officer, Anthony Esparza, and then vice-president of theme park experience design, Brian Morrow.

John Reilly, who has served as interim CEO during the search process, has been appointed as COO.

"We are thrilled to welcome Gus to the SeaWorld team," said Yoshikazu Maruyama, chair of the SeaWorld Board of Directors.

"Gus is a proven leader with broad experiences in the travel and leisure industries. His unique combination of strategy, operations and leadership skills make him the right person to lead SeaWorld through its next phase of growth.

"Gus helped deliver strong financial results and improved guest satisfaction at Carnival by leading efforts to optimise pricing, improve onboard marketing and communications, introduce new guest experiences and drive capital and cost efficiencies – all core to SeaWorld's current strategy.

"We thank John Reilly for his significant contributions. He is an outstanding leader and we look forward to him working with Gus to drive operational excellence across the company."

Antorcha added: "SeaWorld has an irreplaceable portfolio of incredibly valuable assets and brands and provides guests with highly differentiated and inspiring experiences.

"The organisation has an outstanding group of dedicated employees who, together, have a clear focus on improving execution, enhancing the guest experience and growing revenue, profitability and free cash flow.

"I look forward to working with this talented group to enhance and accelerate these efforts and to help realise the full potential of this business for all stakeholders."