MILAN — Italy’s flagship ******* Alitalia says it has named a financial turnaround expert as its new CEO. He will take up his new post in March.

Alitalia said in a statement Thursday that Cramer Ball, 48, will join the Italian ******* from *** Airways India, where as CEO he helped reduce ******. He previously led Air Seychelles to profitability.

Alitalia Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said Cramer’s “proven abilities transforming companies to success,” made him the right choice to implement the *******’s target to return to profitability in 2017.

Long-troubled Alitalia was taken over last year by Etihad Airlines, which launched a restructuring plan, including fleet upgrades and new routes.

Cramer replaces Stefano Cassano, who quit after less than a year on the job.