Hein Velema joins ISA Yachts
Luxury motoryacht builder ISA Yachts in Italy has appointed Hein Velema as Head of Sales and Marketing. As part of a strategy to strengthen the position of the yard and its brand, ISA approached Velema because of his experience built up in the super yacht industry. “This is the type of challenge that I simply cannot resist,” says Velema. “The chance to ensure that a first-class company receives the recognition it deserves.”
Hein Velema started his yachting career at Feadship in the Netherlands, where he spent eleven years building one of the top brands in the global superyacht world. In 2007 Velema joined Fraser Yachts in Monaco as worldwide Director of Sales and became CEO of the same company in 2009. Now, as Head of Sales and Marketing at ISA Yachts, he will be part of the management team and play an active role in the further development of the yard, its brand and its product portfolio.
“I am delighted with the exciting opportunities this new position represents,” continues Velema. “ISA has made great progress over recent years and the shipyard is very well structured. Since 2008 all yachts have been delivered on time, there is a good working quality system in place and warranty issues are at an absolute minimum. These factors and others make ISA almost like a hidden gem that deserves a much larger place in the market. With my background in both the shipyard and brokerage businesses I am confident that we can ensure ISA stands out.”
ISA Yachts builds mega-yachts that are distinguished by their quality of materials, finish, technology and design. To date the yard has built and delivered 28 super-yachts and Michael Mogilevsky, chairman of ISA Yachts, is now ready to take the company to the next level.
“We are going to focus on increasing our marketing efforts in order to build a clearly identifiable and distinct brand,” Mogilevsky explains. “Hein will help us develop a centrally managed sales network, reflecting our belief that the current market requires a fresh approach to sales and marketing. At the same time we will build on the past seven years, which have seen ISA improve the quality and efficiency of yacht construction in a way that is already widely respected in the industry. The task now is to reach a wider audience with this message and show that ISA is the best and most efficient yachtbuilder in Italy, on a par with the best yards in Germany and the Netherlands.”
Marcello Maggi, who has successfully headed the sales and marketing department to date, will continue to support and represent ISA to a group of clients. The Chairman and the CEO, Luciano Bregola, expressed their gratitude to Maggi and their pleasure at attracting someone of Velema’s industry stature to ISA. “We are proud that Hein has joined our team. It is good that he is Dutch as ISA is an international shipyard that aims to compete on quality with the Northern European brands. Hein’s reputation in the super-yacht industry and his considerable track record is exactly what ISA Yachts needs at this juncture in our history.”
