HOW DO WE ENGAGE, INSPIRE & RETAIN SUPERYACHT TALENT

Marianne spent over 10 years at sea, sailing on various sailing yachts and motor yachts, as mate then later as chief engineer. She is very passionate about her time and experiences at sea and loved crossing the Atlantic to work busy charter and owner’s trips in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean Sea. 

Marianne spent numerous years in the engine room, during which time she developed a true passion for engineering.  

In 2003, she started her land-based position as an assistant in the C&N Yacht Management Division and pursued her career in the maintenance and compliance of the yachts in the fleet. She swiftly became specialised in the ISM & ISPS compliance, an area in which she became the manager for many years. 

In between loving to learn and further her knowledge, she became one of the few certified ILO trainers in the application of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 in the yachting industry. She implemented and adapted these regulations to the yachting field and kept herself highly involved and interested in any new regulations affecting yachts and seafarers. 

She passed on her compliancy responsibilities in 2013 and moved on to the Senior Fleet manager’s position looking after a large fleet of yachts. 

In 2018, she took over the role of Deputy Head of the Yacht Management division of the company and took over the Head of the department early 2019. She now manages the worldwide team of C&N’s yacht management, a job she does with passion and dedication. 

Always involved in teaching and sharing knowledge, she encourages everyone she encounters to grow and develop themselves.  She is focussed on offering an honest and respectful experience to owners and is proud to be surrounded by a team who thrive to continuously perfect the services they offer. 

Outside of work, Marianne loves spending time outdoors, hiking, kiting, swimming and sailing whenever possible.  

Karen is the founder of Impact Crew, launched in 2007 with the specific purpose of providing team and leadership development for the maritime industry. Karen’s expertise traverses the maritime and corporate sectors, and she has extensive experience working with managers, leaders, and professionals, through facilitation, training, 1:1 coaching and assessment.

She has a passion for developing people which is evident in her positive, enthusiastic and supportive style of delivery.   

Karen’s philosophy is “to create a relevant, enjoyable and highly participative event, which gives you practical tools that are truly valuable in the workplace”. 

Dale is the founder and CEO of Proteus Professionals - a specialist marine technical recruitment agency, based in UK and NL, and servicing clients worldwide. An industry veteran himself with 20 year long career starting with the America's Cup and ultimately delivering 35 superyacht projects, Dale's intimate understanding of the maritime sector is what sets Proteus Professionals in a league of its own amongst recruiters.

Together with his team at Proteus (all ex yachting professionals too), Dale provides world class technical recruitment to the high-performance yachting, superyacht and composites sectors. Leveraging rich inhouse industry expertise, extensive candidate network and a 21st century data driven evidence-based technology system, Proteus Professionals provides a streamlined, efficient and cost-effective recruitment process that guarantees client satisfaction and enables smooth project delivery. 

John Wyborn is a co-founder and director of Bluewater, a yacht brokerage, charter and management company and a provider of crew training and placement services to a large proportion of the yacht crew population.
He is a board member and ex-President of MYBA (the worldwide yachting association), is on the board of the Professional Yachting Association (PYA) and is a board member of the International Association of Maritime Institutions (IAMI).
He is Chairman of IAMI’s influential Small Ship subgroup. John also sits on the board of both the Merchant Navy Training Board and the Maritime Skills Alliance. He joined the Royal Navy as a seaman officer after university and served on various types of vessels including frigates, destroyers, and finally in command of HMS Mentor; a navigation and seamanship training vessel teaching RN trainees and foreign navies.

With a background on yachts and prior recruitment experience, Nicola has co-run Wilsonhalligan Recruitment for nearly ten years, placing crew on board as well as staff in maritime business and private households.  She is passionate about crew welfare and alongside her role at WH sits on the steering committee for Yacht Crew Help and is also a mentor for the Coming Ashore Programme.