Superyacht Events, the company dedicated to hosting the premiere events for the superyacht industry, has announced the first wave of speakers for the American Superyacht Forum (ASF). Speaking across a powerful ten-session programme for the tenth anniversary of ASF, the speakers will provide an extraordinary three-day event.
ASF panel
ASF 2012 (May 21-23), Fort Lauderdale, marks a pivotal year for implementing the necessary steps to revive an ailing American superyacht market. Whilst ASF 2011 was the year of the rallying cry to implement change and set the ball rolling, this year’s ASF will build on such momentum and focus on action.
The first speaker is Wayne Huizenga Jr, from Rybovich marina and refit, who will appear in the all-important opening session, State of the Industry, the scene-setter for the whole three-day forum. Huizenga will be joined by a shortly to be announced panel who together will examine how the industry can tackle the realities and problems of today. The panel will build upon The Superyacht Group’s Chairman, Martin Redmayne’s opening address, which shows the hard facts of the US industry today via data from Superyacht Intelligence.
The industry can only thrive within the parameters and rules set by the authorities and the government. Session three: The Government and the Authorities – Friend or Foe? will be led by four long standing US industry experts to navigate this thorny issue. Together Kristina Hebert from Wards Marine Electric, John Mann at Bluewater, Corey Ranslem fromSecure Waters and Carlos Vidueira at Rybovich will discuss key issues such as tax and pilotage. Government lobbyists from the US Associations will then present their progress, ideas, and future predictions to the audience.
A clutch of high calibre speakers have also been confirmed for day two. Bill Blount from naval architecture and marine engineering specialist Donald L. Blount & Associates will be joining the opening session of the day, America’s Technical Challenges and Opportunities. This session gives members of different industry disciplines the chance to tell delegates what they see their clients asking for and how the American industry can better serve their needs.
Competing for the annual ‘American Superyacht Forum Innovation Award’ in session five are speakers from yacht technology companies Maretron, Megafend, SeaTel and SpecTec. Each speaker will have just 10 minutes to present their latest technological innovations. The most votes wins, but the SuperyachtEvents team has put an ‘original twist’ on the session to register the delegates’ votes. Expect an intriguing and fun session.
Speakers for session six, The Quality Control Conundrum – Achieving Better Service and Support Focus join a deliberately varied panel. Dean Du Toit from National Marine, Graeme Lord at Fairport Yacht Support and Dean Vaughn, Chief Engineer discuss all sides of the quality control conundrum. They will tackle questions such as ‘What do the buyers need in order to better satisfy their owners?’ And, ‘What do the sellers need inorder to better serve this group?’
Finally, the last wave concludes with Kristina Hebert at Wards Marine Electric, Ken Hickling from the International Superyacht Society, John Mann at Bluewater and Lon McCloskey from Florida Yacht Brokers Association, who will make up the final panel for day two. Together they will update the action plan laid down in 2011 to achieve economic recovery in the US superyacht industry. As well as hearing from the speakers, this session will allow delegates to communicate their ideas, andcontribute to the formulation of a new business model for the US industry.
More speakers and details on the 10 sessions will be announced over the coming days.
