LAUNCHING YACHT OWNERS REPRESENTATIVES REGISTER AND DEFINING THE EXTENSION TO REFITS
Building upon the success of the Yacht Owner's Representative Program (YORP) for new builds, the Superyacht Alliance is now focused on expanding this essential service to the refit market. We invite industry leaders to join us in shaping a comprehensive set of standards that will ensure the highest level of professionalism and expertise among Yacht Owner's Representatives involved in refit projects.
Speakers
Ken Hickling has worked within the Yachting industry since graduating from Solent University in 1990 where he studied Boatbuilding and Boatyard Management. During that time, he worked with Composites specialist Gurit (UK) Ltd (formerly SP Systems) before spending 21 years with the leading global paint company AzoNobel. His positions there included VP Marketing for Interlux in the USA and Global Manager for Awlgrip – both specialist Yacht paint companies.
Mr Hickling currently serves as a non-executive director on the board of the Viking Maritime Group . In addition to running his own Business Advisory company, he currently has the role of Managing Director for three specialist consulting companies: Newmar Overseas Consulting Ltd, Optimar Consulting Ltd and John Robinson Associates Survey Specialists Ltd.
Ken holds a position of Emeritus board member with global superyacht industry association ISS, having served as President, and is currently vice chair of Superyacht UK, which is part of the UK leisure marine trade body British Marine. Hs is also the BSI (British Standards Institution) representative on ISO TC8/SC12/WG5 the technical standards working group addressing Quality on Superyachts.
Ken also serves as one of the Trustees of the Superyacht Charities Foundation which raises funds from within the Superyacht industry on behalf of many small charities operating across Europe.
Hein Velema is partner at Marstrat, maritime strategic consultants, and general secretary of the Superyacht Alliance for Professional Standards. Hein Velema has a master’s degree in economics and was a strategy consultant for a decade before starting in the superyacht industry as director Feadship. Later Hein moved to Monaco to become CEO of Fraser Yachts. During his career Hein was active in associations as board member at Hiswa, SYBAss, LYBRA, IYBA and the Superyacht Alliance.
Rob Papworth graduated from Southampton University in 1995 with a degree in Ship Science. After spending a few years pursuing his passion for sailboat racing in the superyacht world, he transitioned ashore in 1998 to begin his first composite yacht build. This initial experience sparked a decade-long career in the construction of high-tech composite sailing yachts, including several prestigious projects for the America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race.
In 2001, Rob moved to the South of France, where he entered the yacht refit industry with Compositeworks, eventually becoming a shareholder in the company. When Compositeworks was acquired by MB92 in 2017, Rob stayed on in La Ciotat to lead operations, where he continues to serve Managing Director. For the past decade, he has also served as Chairman of the ICOMIA Superyacht Refit Group, contributing his expertise to industry standards and best practices.
Rob still resides in the South of France, an ideal setting for enjoying both his love of the sailing and skiing with his wife and 2 children.
Andrea Carlevaris’ journey in marine engineering began in Trieste back in 1978. After graduating as an engineer from nautical school, he gained hands-on experience as an Engineer Officer on commercial cargo ships, cruise ships, and tugboats.
The Navy construction industry was where he was employed as a foreman to build hybrid propulsion submarines at the end of the ‘80s.
His passion for sailing drove him away from the commercial world, and working as an engineer on sailing yachts first and mega yachts later contributed to his well-rounded perspective on marine engineering.
He founded ACP Surveyors in 2005, a fully independent technical company dedicated to supporting yacht Owners. From new yacht builds to pre-purchase surveys, the company handles a full array of consultancy services, including paint inspections and technical expertise in various forms.
A Class I commercial Chief Engineer and an ISM Lead Auditor, Andrea is also a qualified Registered Marine Coating Inspector (RMCI) and a Full Member of the International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS).
