Paolo Moretti Named RINA CEO as Expansion Push Continues

RINA, a Genoa-based classification and engineering group that has more than doubled revenue over five years, has appointed Paolo Moretti as group chief executive. The announcement describes the naval engineer as a maritime industry veteran chosen for the group’s next phase of expansion, but gives no starting or latest revenue figure.

Moretti succeeds Carlo Luzzatto, who has led RINA since December 2023. His tenure began during Fondo Italiano d’Investimento’s 2023 entry into the shareholder structure, when the investment firm committed up to €180 million for a minority position alongside controlling shareholder Registro Italiano Navale. Minority backing left control with Registro Italiano Navale rather than shifting ownership.

Executive chairman Ugo Salerno retains his position. Giosuè Vezzuto takes over from Moretti as chief executive of RINA Services, the group’s marine classification and certification arm. Salerno therefore stays in the chairman’s seat, Moretti gains overall management responsibility, and Vezzuto inherits the unit built around RINA’s traditional maritime work. The org chart has changed less than the résumé suggests.

Leadership comes from inside RINA

A naval engineer, Moretti joined RINA in 1997 and has worked across marine operations, strategy and commercial management. Before his appointment, he served as general manager and head of RINA’s marine and certification businesses. His senior posts included:

• General manager of the marine business;
• Executive vice president of marine strategic development;
• Chief commercial officer; and
• Head of RINA Services from 2020 to 2026, overseeing the group’s core maritime operations.

His technical grounding and commercial experience make the appointment internally coherent. Neither fact, however, supplies a timetable, price list or contract target.

Salerno moved into the executive chairman’s role when Luzzatto replaced him as chief executive during Fondo Italiano d’Investimento’s investment process. His continued tenure gives the new team continuity in board leadership while leaving operational authority with Moretti and Vezzuto.

Expansion drives the reshuffle

The leadership change follows a period of substantial expansion. RINA says the group has more than doubled revenues over the past five years, although it has not disclosed the opening or closing totals.

Its growth strategy has included acquisitions aimed at expanding engineering and technical capabilities. One purchase was Foreship, a Finnish naval architecture and marine engineering specialist.

The group has since pursued international expansion, with growth targets in maritime services, certification, infrastructure and engineering. That combination could give maritime customers access to a broader service offering, but the announcement identifies no individual contracts, project values or expected revenue contribution from Foreship.

International ambition is clear. The return on it is not yet quantified.

What does this change for shipowners and freight customers?

For shipowners and carriers, this is not a capacity event. RINA announced no vessel slots, TEU, tonnage or freight rates, and appointing Moretti does not add vessels or capacity to any service. The immediate effect concerns continuity around marine classification and certification: service delivery now sits under Vezzuto at RINA Services, while Moretti oversees the group.

For freight forwarders, the relevance is more indirect. RINA’s infrastructure and engineering expansion may broaden services linked to maritime assets and projects, but the announcement names no port contract, cargo program or routing change. No sailing schedule or cargo-handling change follows from the leadership decision.

Customers face no announced price changes, service suspensions or staffing cuts; those would require evidence. The practical test is whether Moretti can turn acquisition-led growth and minority capital into contracted work and disclosed revenue, while Vezzuto maintains service continuity in the marine core.

What to watch next

Watch for a timetable for international growth, evidence that Foreship and other acquisitions generate cross-sold marine, infrastructure and engineering work, and a clearer account of how much of the €180 million commitment has been deployed. Without those disclosures, judging scale from the revenue doubling alone would be guesswork.

The direction is set. The pace remains for RINA to prove. For freight markets, the near-term outlook is unchanged: no freight-rate move or vessel-capacity increase has been announced, while RINA’s service expansion enters its next leadership cycle.