Aqua Expeditions, the first company to introduce five-star luxury cruising to the Amazon, fulfills the dream of founder and CEO Francesco Galli Zugaro. Galli Zugaro, who previously worked with a boutique cruise operator in the Galapagos Islands, has long dreamed of taking travelers to one of the world’s most beautiful and remote regions. The Lima, Peru-based firm will operate its first ship year round, sailing from and to Iquitos, and taking travelers on a luxurious journey to the sources of the Amazon, the remote Pacaya Samiria Reserve, and beyond.
The team:
Francesco Galli Zugaro, Chief Executive Officer
Francesco Galli Zugaro, an experienced travel industry professional and resident of Peru, brings key experience as a top-of-class international marketing and sales executive to his new role as CEO of Aqua Expeditions. Immediately prior to starting his own company, he served as Vice President of Marketing and Sales with a boutique cruise operator in the Galapagos Islands. He has a B.A. in Communications from Boston College and has completed management studies at Carroll School of Management. His prior experience was principally in luxury tourism startups and telecoms. He has expertise in multicultural environments and fluency in four languages arising from dual citizenship (EEC and USA) and prior residence in eight different countries.
Fred Brown, Chief Financial Officer
Fred Brown, a British Chartered Accountant and Chief Financial Officer for Aqua Expeditions, brings a winning combination of experience in business start-ups with a strong knowledge of Latin America to his CFO role at Aqua Expeditions. Over the course of his career, which included accounting work for Deloitte & Touche in Peru, Ecuador, and the United States, Fred mastered the skill of designing feasibility studies, then using them to create business plans—a role he has also played in the creation of Aqua Expeditions. Having recently retired as Country Managing Partner for Ecuador and Partner-in-Charge of Consulting Services for the Andean Region, Fred is now able to turn his intention to handling the financial side of our business. He also serves as Independent Director and President of the Audit Committee for PRONACA, a major $650 million Ecuadorian agribusiness.
Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, Executive Chef
Lima star chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino will oversee the M/V Aqua menus and restaurant operations, focusing on fresh, delicious Peruvian fare, paired with fine South American wines. Schiaffino is owner of Lima’s renowned Malabar Restaurant, and previously made his international reputation at La Huaca Pucllana, where his superb nouveau-Andean fare resulted in an invitation to become a featured chef at the James Beard House in New York City. Schiaffino studied at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park New York, and did master’s level work at the Italian Culinary Institute. While in Italy, he also honed his skills at the Michelin three-star Ristorante dal Pescatore, under renowned chef Nadia Santini and at Piero Bertinotti’s celebrated Ristorante Pinocchio.
Jordi Puig, Architect & Interior Designer
Jordi Puig, widely regarded as one of Peru’s top interior designers, has brought his special touch to designing the exterior façade, suites and public areas of the M/V Aqua. Puig studied architecture and design at both the University Ricardo Palma in Lima and at the Instituto Elisava Escola Superior de Disseny in Barcelona. He has designed numerous commercial spaces, shops, and galleries in Lima, and is responsible for the look of 10 of Lima’s most exclusive restaurants and four of its top bars and discotheques. In addition, Puig has done the interior design for nearly 50 private homes, apartments, and lofts in Peru, Spain, and the United States. His work has been featured in the British magazine Wall Paper, as well as in major design publications in Chile and Peru.
Dalia Gibu, Marketing and Sales Manager
Dalia Gibu has a Masters degree in Tourism Management from the University of Alicante in Spain, and her experience has covered everything from management training to human resources to food and beverages to marketing and sales. She spent several years at the Wyndham Grand Bay Hotel, Isla Navidad Resort in Manzanillo, Mexico before returning to Peru to work as Executive and Direct Sales Supervisor for Inkaterra and the Andean Experience, a luxury hotel and tour operator. She has also taught Marketing for Tourism at San Martin de Porres University in Lima. Gibu speaks Spanish, English, Japanese and French.
Usiel Vásquez, Chief Naturalist
More than half a century ago, Usiel Vásquez’s ancestors migrated from the Upper Amazon wilderness to Iquitos, to make sure that future generations of their family would receive good educations and gain a better standard of living. As a boy, Usiel developed a keen love of nature, fostered when his father took him deep into Amazonia to fish and collect fruit. Ever curious, he set out to learn about all of the species he saw, and to understand their interaction with the rest of the world. As a teenager, he also learned English, so he could tell the visitors he met about his world. Usiel Lot Vasquéz Flores has served as a naturalist and guide in Amazonia since 1988, working for all of the major lodges and cruise companies. In addition, he has assisted scientists and researchers from the World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, The Audubon Society, the Smithsonian Institution and many other scientific, conservation and research organizations.
Karla Benzaquen, Cruise Director
Karla Benzaquen, from Lima, Peru, brings experience aboard five other ships the M/V Zenith and M/V Galaxy, and the F/B Caribbean Express, F/B Millennium Express, and the F/B Island Dawn to her role as Cruise Director onboard the M/V Aqua. Benzaquen has worked in many areas in the cruise industry, from managing day-to-day operations to sales, from catering to overseeing duty free operations. She is fluent in English and very much enjoys meeting people from all over the world. Her careful attention to detail will help to ensure that every passenger has a superlative onboard experience.
Michael Leitao, Head of Purchasing and Logistics
Michael Leitao, the M/V Aqua’s Head of Purchasing and Logistics has worked on ships for the past five years, rising from Assistant Waiter to Food and Beverage Yeoman to Senior Assistant Food Manger. He has worked aboard the M/V Auroroa and the M/V Oriana, as well as the F/B Carribbean Express and the F/B Millennium Express. Over the course of his career, he has made many improvements in food service and has assumed full responsibility for the effective and economic management of the ships’ Food Departments.
Guides and Crew
Three highly trained interpreter guides, who know all the flora and fauna of the Amazon, will take you on as many as three expeditions a day, aboard comfortable motorized skiffs. Your English-speaking guides will give you both the big picture of life on the Amazon, and will point out the multitude of small details that make the region special--a howler monkey hidden in a tree, a vivid butterfly resting on a leaf, a bird, such as the endangered harpy eagle, enjoying the tranquility of the Amazon basin.
M/V Aqua’s 20-person crew keeps the vessel at the level of a luxury hotel. From piloting the vessel to serving in the dining room, from taking care of mechanical maintenance to keeping the suites fresh and lovely to serving drinks under the stars, the crew is dedicated to providing a superb experience for its 24 passengers.
Who is Aqua Expeditions
