Meet the 36 Superyacht Design Symposium 2017 speakers

Leonardo Ferragamo, is Group Executive Chairman of Nautor Holding that owns Nautor’s Swan, Camper & Nicholsons Yachts, and the Marina di Scarlino.

Having worked from a young age at the family company, in 2000 Leonardo became Director of Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A., Ferragamo Finanziaria, the financial holding of the Group and Executive Vice President of Fondazione Ferragamo. At this time, he also moved to take responsibility as CEO of Palazzo Feroni Finanziaria S.p.A., one of the two holding companies of the Ferragamo family, managing the activities in real estate hospitality and diversified activities.

Leonardo is Chairman of “Windows on Tuscany”, specialising in the management of apartments and luxury villas, which merged in 2008 in “Windows on Europe”. He is founder and Chairman of Associazione Partners Palazzo Strozzi, who are committed together with the City of Florence and other institutional members to launch the Palazzo Strozzi cultural activities to make it an international centre of arts. Now an Honorary Chairman, Leonardo initially headed Altagamma from 2000-2009, which unites high-end Italian companies to promote the Italian lifestyle and gain recognition at an international level.

Leonardo graduated in Business Administration from Imede, Lausanne and obtained a degree in Administration and Finance from Columbia University.

Vripack is a third generation studio founded in 1961 and is lead by designer and naval architect Bart M. Bouwhuis and Marnix J. Hoekstra. The Dutch naval architecture, design and engineering studio has created over 7000 designs and is renowned for its high quality no-nonsense-go-anywhere ships that roam the Seven Seas.

“To seamlessly blend the sailing wishes of our clients into a design that first throws them off their feet and later on is embraced as if they thought of every inch themselves gives our team and thus me a great pleasure”, says Marnix J. Hoekstra.

"At Vripack we believe that a good design should not meet all requirements. It should surpass them, creating a boat that is able to go beyond dream. Vripacks holistic design approach is crucial with regard to working on the cutting edge of design and technology. At Vripack we don’t just design yachts, we Engineer Fantasies."

Andrew Winch is the founder and creative director at Winch Design, his position enables him to inspire both clients and design teams with his vision, passion and energy. Winch Design was founded in 1986 by Andrew and Jane Winch as a specialist Exterior and Interior Yacht Design Studio. Over time, the studio has added Aviation, Architecture and Interiors teams to its yacht portfolio and is now a multi-disciplinary studio employing over 75 people, made up of architects, engineers, graphic, interior, textile and furniture designers plus project managers and support staff. Currently working on numerous international design projects on land, in the air and at sea, Winch Design creates spaces which are majestic, timeless and unique. Based in an old fire station on the banks of the River Thames in London, Andrew Winch is celebrating 30 years in business this year.

Prior to Winch Design, Andrew worked at Jon Bannenberg Ltd as an apprentice designer after having spent a year sailing as a crew member across the Atlantic and in the Caribbean on a private 52-foot sailing yacht.

Andrew’s formal training took place at St Martins’ School of Art, London and Kingston College of Art which laid the foundations for his career. Andrew grew up sailing on the south coast of England in dinghies and cruising yachts, his love of the sea embodies all of his work.

Mike Fisher is the creative director and founder of Studio Indigo – an architecture and interior design studio specialising in high end residential work in the UK and around the world.

Studio Indigo’s expertise lies in its ability to grasp how their clients live, what their needs and desires are and to create imaginative and inspiring spaces which reflect that. Surprise and delight is the studio’s motto, taking the client on a journey that is creative and enjoyable.

This skill is now being transferred into the yachting world with Studio Indigo having recently completed the interior of 70 metre Feadship Joy. Their largest yacht to date, Joy is an example of Studio Indigo’s fresh perspective, collaborative approach and meticulous attention to detail.

Teamwork has been a hallmark of Mike’s studio since its inception in 2005. He has built up a multicultural and multilingual group of 50 specialist designers based in a converted warehouse overlooking the Thames in Chelsea, London.

Mike is a keen yachtsman himself and understands the necessary balance between luxury, comfort and functionality. He is able to combine his team’s various fields of expertise and his 25 years’ experience in residential design to deliver yachts that have their own unique and distinctive character.

Martin Francis of Francis Design are currently working on a variety of different projects, including architectural work on the New headquarters for Vitsoe in Leamington Spa and a project for flood resistant housing in the UK. Their yachting work includes the 124-meter M/Y Golden Odyssey recently delivered by Luerssen plus other new large yacht projects. Francis Design are also completing the technical development of a 14 meter Mercedes-Benz Styled luxury yacht for Silver Arrows Marine and a consultancy project with Swarovski for the development of new surface products for interiors.

For the last 20 years, Martin has been working collaboratively with the American Artist Frank Stella on large sculptures and computer assisted art projects. In 2005 he was engaged by RCCL Celebrity Cruises to design the exterior of the Solstice class a series of five 120,000 GRT Cruise Ships. In 1982 Martin joined Peter Rice in the creation of RFR, a Paris based engineering company, established to design the glass facades of the Museum of Science and Technology in Paris. He was also responsible for assisting IM Pei in the design of the cable structure of the Louvre Pyramid using yacht rigging technology.

Working in France since 1976, Martin's first motor yacht was the iconic ECO followed by a number of innovative vessels like M/Y Senses, M/Y Golden Shadow, M/Y Sultan and more recently the 118-meter M/Y ‘A’ for which he was the Technical and Naval designer, a joint project with Phillip Starck.

Martin trained at the Central School of Art and Design and worked as a cabinet maker before in 1967 starting working with Architect Norman Foster on a wide range of projects including the glass wall of the Willis Faber and Dumas building in Ipswich.

Raphaël Laloux has worked with the Philippe Briand team based in London since 2014. He is in charge of the exterior design for various projects from production boats, with the Benneteau group, to large sailing yachts. He is also developing the styling for the Vitruvius Motor yachts, including a range from 25m to 45m for Ocea, a 58m for a prestigious shipyard and a 81m for Turquoise.

Raphaël won the Young Designer of the Year Award organised by Boat International in 2014, with his 60m Symphony. Developed on a SWATH platform, Symphony has been recognised as a yacht offering a true adventure thanks to her curving promenade spiraling around the superstructure and the several novel features (such as a climbing wall mast and a through-deck tender launching platform).

From childhood, Raphaël Laloux has been passionate about the world of creativity. He studied transportation design at the prestigious International School of Design (ISD) in France. Having a strong interest in architecture and car design, Raphaël has found his fulfilment in yacht design which is a harmonious combination of these two worlds.

Rob Armstrong has always had a huge interest in all aspects of design, completing an extensive range of projects and commissions for clients internationally, ranging from marine to residential and commercial design.

After seven years working for one of the top superyacht designers, Ken Freivokh, Rob established the ThirtyC design studio and consultancy alongside fellow designer Alastair Fletcher. Multi-discipline design is Rob’s strength, from exterior styling through to interior design, evolving with each-and-every client.

ThirtyC are continually looking at pushing the boundaries of creativity, drawing upon their own influences and experiences. The studio’s decision to work closely with other design firms has allowed them to work with some of the most well know names in the superyacht industry and be involved in several unique and award winning designs both afloat and in build.

Maurizio Minossi is the technical Director at Videoworks which he joined in 1998. He is also a member of the Board and Director of research and development. Maurizio is currently focused on smart environments, IT redundancy, weareable devices and virtualisation of AV devices.

Videoworks entered the Luxury Yachts Market in 1998 and has been involved in more than 80 projects from 27 to 330 feet in Italy, Netherlands, US and China.

Maurizio began working in Industrial Automation and Industrial Networking in the early 1990s. He has an MBA from Institute Adriano Olivetti ISTAO, 1994 and graduated in Electronic Engineering at the University Politecnica delle Marche in Ancona in 1991.

Superyacht charter was part of family life for Roy Nasser from a young age, and his passion for boats and the sea was instantly apparent. Roy’s family purchased their first boat in the early 2000’s, and for them, yachting remains to be about family time. Since then, the family has bought, refitted & built 5 yachts, ranging in length from 13m to 43m. They have been involved in builds/refits over 3 continents and have cruised extensively, often spending months on board. Roy’s Mother & Sister, Sabina, (after whom the yachts' name M/Y Bina comes from), are extremely design oriented, with a unique approach to form "AND" function, as opposed to form "over" function. In contrast, his father and Roy are both from an engineering/technology background and have always been interested, aware and very involved in everything "behind the scenes". This unique family dynamic has produced incredible results and M/Y Bina’s extensive refit is the latest showcase of our work.

Roy studied at the British School in São Paulo, then pursued studies in Boston, MA before then returning to São Paulo to continue the business he started at 15yrs old. Roy’s software technology company has 'taken off' in the past 4 years which means he now divides his time between São Paulo, Miami, New York (where his sister lives), and Europe (where his mother and grandparents reside).

Sara Gioanola joined Heesen in 2009 as the role of PR and Press Officer. She shares her enthusiasm for the Heesen brand via the media, with extensive content in print publications, digital platforms, videography, events and trade shows. She has helped raise Heesen’s profile considerably thanks to her skills in communication coupled with a thorough understanding of luxury brands and marketing, all around the world.

Prior to Heesen Yachts, Sara worked with Baglietto as a fast motoryacht specialist and Perini Navi, the major superyacht builder specialising in large sailing yachts, from 2005 – 2008.

Sara graduated in 2001 with a Master’s degree in Philosophy. She has always been a passionate sailor and is fluent in three languages.