SPEAKERS 2025

Solenn Gouerou

Head of Marketing & Communications, SEA.AI

Solenn Gouerou grew up inside ocean racing, first as a kid running around the hull molds at CDK shipyard, and in her first jobs managing sponsor activations during

Sir Russell Coutts

SailGP Chief Executive Officer

In partnership with Oracle Founder Larry Ellison, Sir Russell Coutts founded SailGP in 2018. As Chief Executive Officer, Russell has led SailGP’s vision to redefine the sport of sailing (…)

Corinne Migraine

World Sailing Vice-President

An engaged leader and lifelong advocate for sailing, Corinne Migraine is a recognized figure in French sailing. Involved for over 20 years in the development of the sport,

Paolo Manganelli

Structural engineer, Gurit

Paolo Manganelli is a structural engineer specialised in the design of composite structures of sailing yachts.

Massimo Mancini

Head of Corporate Identity & Sponsorships at Generali

Massimo Mancini is Head of Corporate Identity & Sponsorships at Generali, where he leads the global team and coordinates local teams to ensure brand consistency while respecting local strengths.

Rosanna Chopra

Executive Director, Red Sea Global

Rosanna joined Red Sea Global in 2022 as Executive Director of Destination Development charged with defining and implementing the destination development strategy across the portfolio of projects.

David Graham

CEO, World Sailing

David Graham has served as Chief Executive Officer of World Sailing, the global governing body for the sport, since July 2020.

Holly Cova

Team Director of Team Malizia

Holly Cova is the Team Director of Team Malizia, one of the world’s leading ocean racing teams known for combining elite sailing with a strong commitment to climate action.

Jeremy Pochman

Co-Founder & CEO, 11th Hour Racing

Jeremy is a co-founder and the CEO of 11th Hour Racing, captain, and professional sailor.

Giorgio Benussi

Secretary General and Sports Director, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda

Giorgio Benussi has been appointed Secretary General and Sports Director of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, effective 1st October 2025.

Rosalin Kuiper

Professional Sailor and Skipper

Rosalin Kuiper (1995, Netherlands) is a professional offshore sailor and was the skipper of Team Holcim-PRB for The Ocean Race Europe 2025.

Hugo Kerhascoët

CTO, we.deploy (science)

Hugo Kerhascoët is a PhD engineer specialized in high-performance sailing and real-time control systems. For more than 15 years, he has operated at the intersection of control theory, embedded software, and performance analytics,

Ana Čalić

Business & Marketing Development Manager at Navela

Ana Čalić is a boating industry specialist and passionate advocate for sustainability, diversity, and innovation.

Jeremy Wilton

CEO, Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC)

Jeremy Wilton is Chief Executive of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), one of the world’s most prestigious sailing organisations and organiser of the Rolex Fastnet Race, RORC Transatlantic,

Antoine Mermod

President, IMOCA Class

Antoine Mermod has served as president of the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA) since 2017.

Peter Rusch

Communications Director, The Ocean Race

Peter Rusch is the Communications Director for The Ocean Race, focused on content strategy, audience growth, and stakeholder communications.

Luca Manzoni

Luca Manzoni, CEO, Nuncas group

Luca Manzoni, engineer by training and long‐standing CEO of the Nuncas group, has directed the company’s evolution from a craft‐oriented structure to an international, industrially advanced enterprise.

Laura Marimon Giovannetti

Senior Researcher at RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden)

Laura Marimon Giovannetti started working in RISE Maritime (SSPA) in October 2019.

Katia Merle

Engineer, VPLP Design

After studying Yacht Design at Southampton in 2003-2006, I trained and worked as a composite structural engineer at GURIT(UK) for 14 years

Bruno Dubois

Team Manager, France SailGP Team

Bruno is one of a select band of people who understands the challenges of sailing both as a professional sailor and as a team manager.

Jo Grindley

CMO/CCO, Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team

Jo Grindley is the CMO/CCO of the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team. Having worked alongside Sir Ben Ainslie for almost 25 years, Jo has been a key figure in the four-time Olympic champion’s commercial ventures in the world of sport,

Niels Klarenbeek

Director of RAI Maritime Events

Niels Klarenbeek is Director of RAI Maritime Events, overseeing Metstrade, The Superyacht Forum, the Superyacht Coating Conference, and IBEX (in cooperation with IBEX LLC).

Stratis Andreadis

Race Director, Yacht Club of Greece

Stratis G. Andreadis is a leading figure in Mediterranean yacht race organisation, serving as Race Director for the Yacht Club of Greece, the Spetses Classic Yacht Regatta, and the Cyclades Cup.

Martina Reche Vilanova

Martina Reche-Vilanova (1996, Spain) is Technical Manager at North Windships. A qualified naval architect with a lifelong passion for sailing, she holds a PhD from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

Benoît Gaudiot

Co-founder and pilot, SP80 challenge

Benoît is a co-founder and sailor of the SP80 challenge, aiming to set a new outright World Sailing Speed Record with their kite-powered trimaran.

Antonio Alquézar

CEO and Team Principal, Los Gallos Spain SailGP Team

Antonio Alquézar is the CEO and Team Principal of the Los Gallos Spain SailGP Team, where he has led one of the most remarkable transformations in professional sailing

Marcus Hutchinson

Director, VIVI RESOURCES Ltd

With over 40 years of professional experience in every part of the always evolving world of international yacht racing (Admiral’s Cup, America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, Vendée Globe, Solitaire du Figaro

Helen Fretter

Editor, Yachting World

Helen is editor of Yachting World – not only the world’s oldest sailing magazine and a monthly print publication, but now also a global digital sailing media brand across multiple platforms with a monthly reach of over 2m.

Adrian Peet

General Manager, Amaala Yacht Club

A career event professional Adrian has spent the past six years in Saudi Arabia and has carved out a leadership role in helping the country fulfil its Vision 2030 plan

Jörg Müller-Dünow

Managing Partner, markenzeichen

Jörg Müller-Dünow (54) is a German PR and marketing expert and Managing Partner of the communications and marketing agency markenzeichen,

Alex Reid

Director of Performance Engineering at SailGP

Alex has over 20 years experience working in the marine industry in the domain of software, electronics and performance analysis.

Dan Jaspers

Marine Consultant

My experience in the watersports and marine industry spans more than 20 years, with experience in both the educational sector as well as the delivery of watersports activities.

Edward Bell

Project Manager, Magic Carpet e

Ed Bell is the Project Manager of the world’s coolest and most impressive race boat built in 2025: Magic Carpet e

Emily Nagel

Pro Sailor and Performance Data Analyst

Born and raised in Bermuda I have always been passionate about combining my love of sailing with my career.

Andraž Mihelin

Co-founder and CEO of Seascape

Co-founder and CEO of Seascape; slovenian company in charge of developing, building and marketing of Beneteau First and First SE sailing boats under 40ft.

Simon Keijzer

CEO Miles Media

After an initial career in advertising combined with a semi-professional career in Olympic and offshore sailing, I am now a communicator in (top) sport events.

Pip Woods

Managing Director, Rockley Watersports & RYA Board Member

As Managing Director of Rockley Watersports, Pip Woods has combined over 20 years of business leadership with a career dedicated to growing participation in sailing and watersports.

Linda Bomhof

Event Director, Dutch Water Week

I’m working with sport marketing agency TIG Sports & Events. On this behalve I’m the event director of the Dutch Water Week for 5 editions of the event now.

Ferran Muniesa

CEO, Trofeo Princesa Sofia

Ferran Muniesa is a member of the Events Committee of World Sailing and also sits on the boards of directors of both the Balearic and Spanish Sailing Federations.

Chris Trodden

Head of Business Development, FT Technologies

Chris Trodden, Head of Business Development at FT Technologies, has dedicated 10 years to advancing the awareness and application of Acu-Res® wind measurement technology

Julia Castro

Social media expert and professional waterwoman (kitesurfer)

With a background in professional kitesurfing, Julia Castro, born in the Canary Islands, is a social media expert with a knack for elevating major sailing events’ digital presence.

Imogen Dinham-Price

Sustainability Manager, IMOCA Class

Imogen specialised in sustainability at the University of Southampton. First taking her learnings to the agricultural sector before jumping across to the marine sector.

Joe Lynch

ICOMIA CEO

Joe Lynch is Chief Executive Officer of ICOMIA. Prior to joining ICOMIA in 2023, Joe founded a consultancy

Mark Somerville

CTO & Marine Race Director, Persico

Mark Somerville is CTO and Marine Race Director of Persico. Originally from Auckland New Zealand where he studied and sailed competitively before leaving New Zealand

Mark Jardine

Managing Editor

Mark has been managing sailing websites since 1996, always being at the forefront of technology, and now manages the combined Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com network.

Knut Frostad

Executive Chairman

Knut Frostad has an international business background and is a recognised motivational speaker. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of Henri-Lloyd, and previously held the position of CEO at Navico Group.

Andy Rice

Professional sailing journalist and commentator

Andy Rice is a full-time sailing journalist, commentator and marketing consultant.

Richard Moore

CEO - Alter Agency

Richard has been involved in the sport and entertainment marketing industry since 1992, when he started his career managing Carlsberg-Tetley’s partnership with the England Cricket Team.

Alexandra Rickham

Director of Sustainability, World Sailing

Alexandra Rickham is Director of Sustainability at World Sailing.

Meg Reilly

Program Strategy & Marketing Consultant

Meg Reilly is a circumnavigator and sustainability leader who blends expertise in communications, leadership, and sport diplomacy to drive global impact.

Shirley Robertson

Yacht Racing Forum Chair

Shirley Robertson OBE made history by becoming the first British woman to win Olympic Gold Medals at two consecutive Olympic Games.

James Pleasance

Executive Director, World Match Racing Tour

James Pleasance is Executive Director for the World Match Racing Tour, the longest running global professional sailing series established in 2000 and awarded Special Event status by World Sailing.

Victoria Low

CEO, The Magenta Project

With three decades of experience in the yachting industry, Victoria is an experienced Director and independent

Richard Brisius

Chairman, The Ocean Race

Richard Brisius is the co-CEO of The Ocean Race alongside Johan Salén. He brings extensive experience in leading international complex teams, projects and events.

Quentin Lucet

Naval Architect, Partner, VPLP

Quentin Lucet, naval architect has been involved with VPLP since 2006 in numerous racing projects. The range of projects is really wide with a common factor : performance.