ASMEX 2020 speakers announced

The Australian International Marine Export Group (AIMEX) has announced the list of speakers for this year’s Australian Superyacht, Marine Export & Commercial Marine Industry (ASMEX) conference, which runs from May 18-20 in Sanctuary Cove, Queensland.

Now in its 10th year, ASMEX 2020 will address questions on where the marine industry in Australia, the South Pacific and the global industry as a whole is heading, and what steps should be taken to ensure its continued success in the new decade to come.

Once again, Martin Redmayne, chairman and editor-in-chief of The Superyacht Group, will host, interview and mediate a cross-section of compelling issues and present on some of the latest market intelligence and data.

Kiran Haslam, chief marketing officer and board member for the environment at Princess Yachts, will serve as keynote speaker, providing his perspectives and expectations for the future. Haslam will draw on his extensive background within the superyacht industry as well as other industries such as engineering, automotive, hospitality and advertising, and discuss his experiences working for Bentley Motors and Princess Yachts.

Other speakers include Theo Hooning, Secretary for the Superyacht Builders Association (SYBAss), who will discuss the current level of activity and optimism for the future and how the industry is planning to engage new clients.

Peter Staalsmid, sales manager at Sevenstar Yacht Transport, will present on ‘The Future of Yacht Transportation’ referencing the latest trends and predictions on migration flows and patterns both in and out of the Pacific region with an emphasis on the superyacht traffic in and around the Americas Cup in Auckland in early 2021.

Joining Staalsmid on stage will be Gabriele Consiglieri, area manager for DYT Yacht Transport, a sister company to Sevenstar Yacht Transport. Consiglieri will enlighten delegates on the latest status of their superyacht carrier that is already under construction and its impact on vessel transportation globally.

The importance of the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland, to be held late 2020 to early 2021, will be delivered by Peter Busfield, executive director NZ Marine & CEO NZ Marine Export Group, who will share updates on the big event, expand on the expected vessel visitation levels and also cover the current state of the marine industry in New Zealand.

Key Australian stakeholders will also feature in the program. Carl and Grant Amor, directors of Aqualuma LED Lighting, will join Redmayne on stage to discuss some of the highs and lows of building a successful marine export business.

And finaly, Dr Andy Lewis, founder and executive director of the Coral Sea Foundation (CSF), will join the conference speaker line-up through the session titled ‘The Green Agenda - Sustainability’ which will focus on two of the CSF initiatives.

AIMEX has also announced the inaugural Mentoring and Education Export Series (MEES) as a separate event running in parallel to the main conference on Tuesday, May 19. The sessions are designed to provide a solid platform for new marine exporters entering the market and will focus on common business challenges facing marine exporters including securing an agent or distributor overseas and export finance.