Meet the 26 speakers at the 2016 Superyacht Design Symposium

PLENARY SESSION SPEAKER: What is the new luxury?

Nicky Haslam is one of London’s best-known and best-loved interior designers, a charmed and charming agent of style and a taste-maker for the rich. His appeal is global and NH Design interiors are sprinkled around the globe from Mayfair to Moscow to Morocco. He’s a social magician who has created the décor for some of the most iconic parties of our age from the Opera Ball in Hong Kong to the Cartier Polo Gala lunch. Its no wonder HRH the Prince of Wales and Sir Evelyn and Lady Rothschild have enlisted his services for their events. Nicky is also a waspish diarist, a talented memoirist and has, latterly, managed the successful transition to cabaret artiste. He is one of the funniest social observers and was a friend of Elvis, Svetlana Stalin and Liberace.

PLENARY SESSION SPEAKER: Is the client always right?

With experience in the yacht design industry stretching back over 40 years, Tim Heywood has had the opportunities to produce some very well known designs. Pelorus may be his most important ‘iconic’ project, but recent work, such as Topaz, Event and Quantum Blue have shown that his highly original lines, curves and sculptural forms, are still very much in demand.

Tim Heywood Design moved out of London five years ago and set up their design studio in Rutland, in the middle of England, from where he, and partner Vanessa, dispatch designs to their current projects in Germany, Holland and the south of the UK.

Now using traditional drawing skills, together with computer technology, the end results of his work can be seen in the larger yacht marinas of the world.

PLENARY SESSION SPEAKER: Is the client always right?

Peter Lürssen has been the managing partner of the Lürssen Shipyard since 1988‎, continuing the company's family-owned tradition in the fourth generation together with his cousin Friedrich Lürssen. A graduated naval architect, industrial engineer and having obtained an MBA from Cornell University, Peter Lürssen oversees all seven Lürssen shipyard locations in Northern Germany and is active in the operative business of yacht sales. Not only passionate about yachting and sailing, Lürssen has made the support of marine protection a priority in his charity work. He is a strong supporter of the Blue Marine Foundation, a marine conservancy successfully and efficiently campaigning for the set-up of Marine Protected Areas in the world's oceans, and he passionately spreads the word amongst clients and industry leaders.

‎In his free time, Peter Lürssen prioritizes spending time with his family, on sailing cruises or at home in Bremen.

PLENARY SESSION SPEAKER: Is beauty a science or an art?

Espen Øino is the principal of Espen Øino International, a leading firm of designers and naval architects based in Monaco, specializing in the design of large, bespoke motoryachts. With over 40 yachts in service and many more currently in build, Espen Øino International is today considered one of the leading design studios in the world. Amongst the more recent deliveries are the new Kismet, the 95 meter Lürssen  Ester III, a 66 meter Lürssen Inifinity, a 89 meter Oceanco and Ocean Victory, a 140 meter Fincantieri.

James O'Callaghan is a structural engineer with more than 20 years of experience. Widely acknowledged as an authority on structural glass, he is perhaps best known for his highly innovative designs for glass stairs, bridges and other structural elements in Apple’s iconic retail stores around the world.

He co-founded engineering design firm Eckersley O'Callaghan with Brian Eckersley in 2004. The practice is based in London, with offices in New York, San Francisco, Paris and Shanghai.

His contribution to the Feadship Venus was instrumental in demonstrating and justifying that glazing of such a scale could be used in the marine environment. This landmark success has paved the way for his dedicated team of glass engineers to further support the industry in realising large-format glazing and striking glass features such as canopies, stairs or swimming pools in superyachts. The team provides technical design, detailing, and procurement expertise to deliver cutting-edge glass structures meeting classification regulations. O’Callaghan believes that collaboration and engagement are key to continuously redefine what is achievable in this ambitious market.

PLENARY SESSION SPEAKER: Is beauty a science or an art?

Marek Reichman is Chief Creative Officer and Design Director of Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. Since joining the company in 2005, he has strengthened its iconic styling and led it through a prolific period, introducing the graceful high-performance Rapide S, the new Vanquish and Aston Martin’s recent flagship model, the stunning One-77. The most recent creations to leave the Aston Martin Design Studio include the DB10 Bond car for Spectre, DBX Concept, Aston Martin Vulcan and Vantage GT12. Throughout his career, Marek has been involved with some of the world’s most iconic cars, including the Rolls-Royce Phantom, the Lincoln MKX and Navicross Concept Cars and the Range Rover Mk lll. After beginning his design career with Rover Cars in 1991, Marek moved to BMW Designworks, California in 1995 to become Senior Designer. Here he led the overhaul of Land Rover design DNA for future production models, with the most significant of these becoming 2003’s new Range Rover. He joined Ford in 1999 as Chief Designer for the company’s Ford and Lincoln Mercury brands and rose to the position of Director of Design for Product at Ford North America before moving to Aston Martin.

PLENARY SESSION SPEAKER: Is the client always right?

Pascale Reymond is the Managing Director of Reymond Langton Design, an international award winning interior and exterior design company for Super Yachts located in the UK.

The company was established in 2001 by the talented design duo Pascale Reymond and Andrew Langton. Pascale’s creative background involves a Master’s degree in Art History from La Sorbonne, Paris before moving to London to study Interior Design.

Pascale’s superb attention to detail means that every delivery has unquestionable quality, which undoubtly can been seen in the team’s most recent delivery, Lürssen’s Lady Lara, along with other recent deliveries including the new Kismet, Ester III and Ann G.

PLENARY SESSION SPEAKER: What has a superyacht got in common with a warship? Why should we care?

Anthony Rix retired as a Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy in 2009. In his 34 year career in the RN he commanded 2 major warships and led national and multi-national operations across the globe. He also served in the UK’s Royal Yacht, HMY Britannia.

From 2004 to 2009 he specialised in counter-terrorism and counter-piracy operations in the Mediterranean and Middle East. On leaving the RN he set up and ran a highly successful Maritime Security company based in London with operations in the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Guinea and Far East.

He now works as a Director for MAST, a leading international maritime security company based in the UK. He also advises a number of other companies focused on innovative security solutions for Superyachts and commercial clients.

Anthony welcomes the opportunity to join everyone at Boat International’s Superyacht Design Symposium 2016 and looks forward to what will undoubtedly be a useful meeting.

PLENARY SESSION SPEAKER: What is the new luxury?

Richard Woolley is the Studio Director for Design Research and Special Vehicle Operations, working under the direction of Gerry McGovern Jaguar Land Rover board member and Land Rover’s Chief Creative Officer.

Richard started his career in the UK, completing studies at Swansea University College of Art and Design before taking on his first design role at Airbus Industrie in Hamburg, Germany.

His career at Land Rover began in 1985, when he worked for the Rover Group on numerous passenger vehicle programmes including Rover, MG, MINI, and Land Rover vehicles. During this period he also worked in Tokyo, Japan and Munich, Germany.

After a period working in Detroit for Ford Design North America, Richard returned to the UK to take up the role of Studio Director within Land Rover. His significant design achievements upon his return included the 2003 Range Stormer concept, 2004 Range Rover Sport, 2007 Freelander, and 2009 Range Rover. Under Gerry McGovern’s overall leadership, he also directed the design team working on the all-new 2012 Range Rover.

Richard leads a team of creative designers who are developing future technologies and looking at other product opportunities for Land Rover. This includes design responsibility for the Special Vehicle Operations business within Land Rover, which develops high-end luxury bespoke and extreme performance vehicles, including the Range Rover SVAutobiography and the Range Rover Sport SVR.

In his spare time, Richard enjoys all aspects of design, travel and music. He has a great interest in rugby & football with a particular passion for his national side Wales. He is married with one daughter and lives in Warwickshire.

Fred van Beers has been the CEO of Blohm + Voss since March 2015 and has held senior leadership positions in the maritime industry for more than 15 years. Fred joined Blohm+Voss from his former position as Vice President Services Northern Europe at Wärtsilä, the global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the maritime industry and energy markets with a presence in more than 70 countries.

Fred van Beers is a qualified ship engineer, went to sea for four years, and has led all stages of design, engineering, production and aftermarket services. He has a proven track record in delivering profitable sales growth. Throughout his career at Wärtsilä and his positions in various maritime industry organisations in the Netherlands and Europe, Fred van Beers built up an extensive international network within the community of yacht and ship owners, yacht designers, shipyards and the maritime supply industry. For the past 20 years delivery of systems and services for yachts has been part of his wider responsibilities.