Meet the 26 speakers at the 2016 Superyacht Design Symposium

Monégasque Naval Architect Richard Hein has taken on many roles in the yachting world. He began his career opening a sales and design office in the US for Guy Couach and then moved to the then-largest US yacht builder Broward Marine as its in-house designer, where he was responsible for drawing the yards landmark 120-footers.

In 1984 he returned to his native Monaco and opened The A Group design studio where his yachts caught the attention of several European yards and led to him being tapped to help begin Oceanco and then serve as its chief designer and CEO for 12 years, during which time the yard delivered 18 yachts from 35 to 95 meters including the Stargate twins and Al-Mirqab, the biggest yachts ever built in The Netherlands to that time. A management buyout of Oceanco headed by Hein and backed by yacht owner Theodore Angelopoulos, took place in 2002 and in 2004, Hein stepped down as CEO turning sole ownership of the yard to Angelopoulos.

Augmenting his design studio, Hein established VegaYachts, a project development and management company focused on vessels in the 100-meter range. Its first project is the world’s first unrestricted PYC class yacht. The 101-meter IDynasty was launched at the Kusch Yachts shipyard in Germany during November 2014 and delivered successfully to her owner in July 2015. Various projects between 70 and 135 meters are currently in development at The A Group along with exclusive residential properties in The Bahamas.

“Thanks to our background as yacht builders, all our original and innovative designs incorporate construction knowledge, particularly the complex PYC,” says Hein.

“At The A group, we design to build.”

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?

Francesco Lovo, graduated in Aeronautical Engineering at the Politecnico of Turin in 1993, starts his career at Fiat Avio with particular assignments related to ESA programs for the development of new generation reusable space launchers and advanced ‘airbreathing’ hypersonic propulsion systems.

In 1997 he starts collaborating with Pininfarina Extra as Engineering Manager establishing a new CAD virtual modeling unit for industrial design projects.

From 1998 to 2001 he is responsible for business development while in 2002, he takes the responsibility of the creative, design and engineering management at Pininfarina Extra as R&D Director.

In 2005-2006, in the occasion of the Olympic Winter Games 2006 in Turin, he manages the whole research, development and manufacturing program for the Olympic torch, produced in 12.000 pieces by Pinnfarina SpA.

From 2007 to 2013 he manage the development program at Pininfarina Extra for the new passenger cabin interiors for Sukhoi Superjet-100 regional jet.

In the meantime he establish a new architectural-design division at Pininfarina Extra.

In the following years he manage the design development programs for superyachts projects collaborating with the selected shipyards and the end users.

In 2015 he take the responsibility of the whole operative activities relevant to the Pininfarina projects outside the automotive field as Pininfarina Extra Vice President Operations.

Up to now he has managed more than 400 different design projects in different design and industrial fields working with customers all around 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: Superyacht Owner Panel

Owner and captain of 41m Superyacht Komokwa, Brian O’Sullivan is a self-proclaimed ‘meat and potatoes boater’ who states; ‘luxury for the sake of luxury’s sake has never interested me, unless it serves a higher purpose.’

Currently the President of the Mexico Power Group, Brian is an entrepreneur with an active career in sustainable wind energy and most recently solar energy. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Wind Energy Associations and is founder of the California Wind Energy Association.

In October 2013 Brian departed from Vancouver, Canada for an extended round the world cruise, stopping in at the Montenegro Rendezvous on the back of his tour of the Balearic Islands.

PLENARY SESSION SPEAKER: Form vs Function

Paul Priestman is a designer and Director of PriestmanGoode, the leading travel and transport design consultancy whose work ranges from aircraft interiors to hotels, high speed trains, private jets, commercial spacecraft and cruise ships.

Paul is known for creating luxurious passenger experiences in small spaces and has designed many award winning airline interiors, including First Class cabins for Qatar Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Air France, Swiss International Airlines and TAM Airlines among many others, as well as the new high speed trains in China.

Based in London and China, PriestmanGoode employs an international staff of over fifty people – from designers to visualisers and textile specialists – who excel at creative problem solving and continuously push the boundaries of travel and transport design.

Paul believes that design is not just about styling, but about making things better, both for passengers, as well as to manufacture, run and maintain. A well-known figure in the global design industry, he is regular speaker on the subject of design and its value to business. He is currently a trustee of the Design Council and earlier this year was voted one of London’s most influential people for the third consecutive year.

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.