Breaking News. On October 17th, after personal intervention by president Trump, the IMO has postponed the adoption of the Net-Zero Framework. To everyone's great disappointment, the decarbonization of the global fleet isn't getting the necessary boost. What went wrong, what can we learn from this, and what does this mean for the superyacht industry? Ask all your questions to a team of experts.
As co-founder and executive director of Water Revolution Foundation, Robert oversees its daily operations, focusing on partner relationships and progressive projects to accelerate environmental change in the global yachting sector. Under his leadership the Foundation brought forward the powerful Yacht Environmental Transparency Index (YETI), a sector specific Roadmap 2050 towards regenerative yachting and Environmental Crew Guidelines for example. Robert holds a masters degree in business administration, specialised in sustainability & stakeholder management. He is passionate about uniting people and organizations to achieve things that are beyond the scope of the individual.
Following his secondary and higher education in the Netherlands, Italy and UK (MSc Marine Technology), Engel started his career as a loss adjuster in the UK, determining insurance claims. In 1994, he was employed by the International Chamber of Shipping representing shipping companies mainly at the IMO. In 1996 he joined Lloyd's Register where he worked as a field surveyor dealing with various ship types including yachts and passengerships. He was appointed manager of the plan approval office in Rotterdam in 2005. From January 2012 his carreer took a more commercial direction by leading the sales team in Western Europe. He has been managing the yacht segment from commercial, technical and marketing point of view since the year 2000, representing LR during industry and governmental meetings. He became LR Yacht Segment Director in 2021.
After graduating from university, Julian joined Lloyds Register in 2004 as a Surveyor in the Yacht and Special Service Craft Department. In 2014, he joined the Fire and Safety plan approval department as Lead Specialist (Yachts) and was responsible for the appraisal of plans and documentation for various superyacht projects up to 150m LOA. In 2017, he joined the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry and is now responsible for safety and compliance related matters from both a new build and in-service perspective specialising in pasenger yachts and alternative fuels. He also acts in the capacity of Code Secretariat for the REG Yacht Code and particpates in various industry working groups regarding regulatory development. Julian is a Chartered Engineer and a Member of the Royal Institute of Naval Architects.
Degreed in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Genoa, I am currently Chief R&D Officer at Sanlorenzo, one of the world's leading manufacturers of Superyachts. Sanlorenzo R&D department works as a key support team to all the BU of the Group (Sanlorenzo, Bluegame and Nautor Swan). My expertise spans over 25 years in the marine industry, including significant experience at Azimut-Benetti where I managed both R&D team and shipyard operations. My maritime connection began as an Italian Navy Reserve Officer aboard the prestigious Amerigo Vespucci training ship. Prior to joining Sanlorenzo, as Managing Director at Cressall Resistors, I demonstrated my skills to drive innovation and business growth, doubling company turnover and now bringing deep technical knowledge and strategic leadership to the luxury yacht sector, with particular focus on innovative technologies and sustainable development.
