Superyacht Times - Broker Insights
Nov 1, 2023
Have you had any significant mentors who have helped you during your career and if so how have they helped you?
Education is always important in any business, however, brokerage mentors were very rare when I first started in the industry. There have been several brokers and company owners whom I have admired both for their business ethics and as people. During my career, I have also found several clients who have greatly inspired me. As a broker, you develop personal relationships and consequently, you understand more about the complexity of business, pleasure and knowledge. The people who work at the shipyards are also worth mentioning, as they build the products that we are selling, so the better you understand them, the better broker you will become.
How important is it to gain experience selling yachts of a smaller size when you’re first entering the industry?
For me, it was very important and I consider it the basis of my current knowledge and expertise. I started in the brokerage selling 40-50 ft sailing yachts. The personal contact you build with the clients increases greatly as you are responsible for finding them a great boat deal. There were countless more deals selling sailing yachts than in the superyacht industry, so I gained a plethora of valuable experience in negotiating and closing deals!
You successfully brokered the sale of the record-breaking Asian-built 89-metre yacht, Illusion Plus. Please tell us more about this impressive sale and the challenges of selling a yacht her size?
It was a long story of entrepreneurial endurance. When I first became involved in that project it was nothing more than an idea in the head of a Chinese shipyard owner who wanted to build one family yacht at his yard, and a second one for the market. The initial ideas they proposed were good, but needed to be fine tuned and modified to superyacht standards; naval architecture, interior design , engineering etc. When this was in place the big financial crisis occurred and the project was shelved. The shipyard was sold to a large Chinese conglomerate and that made the negotiations even more complex. All the people involved were doing their best but they were learning by doing, so a lot was lost in translation. When the yacht finally began construction we introduced her to the market during the Monaco Yacht show party of Fraser in the old yacht club. It was a big success and within a year, the yacht was sold. It was very special to have been involved in such a production!
Read the full interview in the link below.