Lorna Titley

Director, Quaynote Communications

Jean-Philippe Maslin

Associe/Partner, Richemont Delviso

Alicia Jordan

Sea Service & Development Manager, PYA

Alicia has a 13-year background of working with and onboard superyachts and recently made the transition to land. Currently, she holds the role of Sea Service and Development Manager at the Professional Yachting Association helping crew navigate the MCA regulations, give career advice, and remain up to date with industry news, events and relevant topics of discussion.

Rachel Bradley

MedAire

Daniel Taylor

Owner, Taylor Hampton Solicitors

Hattie Nicholson

Superyacht Insurance, Pantaenius

Simon Jones

Profundo Blu Marine

Captain James Battey

Yacht Captain, Founder of YWC yacht workers council

James Battey is a Yacht Captain with over 20 years of experience at sea, having worked his way up from junior crew to command. He is known for a steady leadership style, strong crew retention, and a practical, hands-on approach to operations, refits, and new builds.

Alongside his career on the water, James is the founder of the Yacht Workers Council (YWC), a crew focused infrastructure aimed at improving transparency, career development, and professional standards across the industry.

A husband and father of four, he remains committed to balancing family life with a genuine desire to see the yachting industry evolve in a way that supports the people within it.

Kayleigh Liddell

Crew Services Coordinator, Hill Robinson 

Dr Pennie Blackburn

Waypoint Maritime CiC, Consultant Clinical Psychologist

Eli Cookson

Counsellor, Psychotherapist, Coach

Keely Gavin

Sail to Success

Joanna Drsydale

Director, Underwriting Services, MHG

Toni Frost

Operations Manager, Safer Waves

Kim Fry

UKSA

Ellen Armsden

Co-Founder / Legal Lead, Crewdentials

Captain Aymeric Loizeau

Master 500 of TFB1

Captain Vlado Madzgalj

Chief Officer / Maritime Professional / Master 500GT

Ishika WALIA

Yacht and Crew Manager – OCEAN DRIVE

Captain Jean François Neuder

Jean-François Neuder is a yacht captain (Master 500GT) with more than twenty years of international experience. He promotes a leadership approach focused on crew stability, accountability and professional development as key drivers of retention and sustainable performance onboard.

Alice Wring

HR Manager, Arrow Monaco 

Kirsty Porritt

Business Director, Oceanskies 

Laura Beard

Welfare of Yacht Crew Project Manager, ISWAN

Laura is a former superyacht Purser, with shoreside experience in yacht management, refit, and construction. After completing a master’s degree in psychology, she joined ISWAN in January 2025 at the Welfare of Yacht Crew Project Manager, focusing on the development and delivery of collaborative, cross-industry projects addressing key health, personal-safety and wellbeing issues faced by crew living and working on board yachts. ISWAN is chair and secretariat of Changing Tack, the crew welfare think tank under the Superyacht Alliance.

The International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) is an NGO working to ensure that seafarers and their families have the support and resources they need to respond to the challenges of life at sea, and to drive seafarer-centred change within the maritime sector. ISWAN’s YachtCrewHelp service provides free, 24-hour, confidential, multilingual, multichannel support to yacht crew and their families worldwide.

Emma Kate Ross

Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Co-Founder & Director, Seas the Mind

Lynne Edwards

Owner and Principal Trainer, Phoenix Superyacht Training

Lauren Saltonstall

Industry & Careers Co-ordinator, UKSA

Captain Luis Chagas

Luis Chagas is a Portuguese super-yacht Captain with industry experience since 2009, having progressed through the ranks to command vessels up to 67m. His career has been shaped by a strong focus on leadership, crew wellbeing, and the human factors that influence onboard culture and retention.

Currently based in Italy, Luis has undertaken continued professional development, completing training in Command & Control, Command & Senior Leadership, DPA, and ISM/MLC/ISPS Internal Auditor, in order to further understand the impact of leadership, regulation, and the practical changes that can be implemented across the industry.

Speaker at the Lloyd’s Register Yacht Safety Forum 2026, focusing on the relationship between leadership behaviour, regulation, and onboard culture, and how these directly impact psychological safety, crew welfare, and long-term retention.

Glen Taylor

Co-Owner, Superyacht Fitness/The Luxury Wellness Group

John Cook

Founder and Managing Director, Lesia

John is the Founder and Managing Director of Lesia Employment Services ICC Limited, based in Guernsey, which started life in November 2010. Previously, in 2003, John formed the first company to offer employment services to the yacht industry. He has retained the knowledge he gained when working for HMRC, especially in the area of social security.

He was part of the MCA’s Large Yacht Sub-Group and instigated the PYA visit to the ILO offices in Geneva in February 2010 and worked with the Seafarers International Research Centre at Cardiff University in drafting the PYA qualitative survey for yacht crew.  He is an ILO certified trainer of MLC inspectors and regularly runs MLC training sessions on yachts and for yacht sector companies, and is a frequent speaker at yacht seminars and conferences.

Since June 2022, John is a Visiting Lecturer at the World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden, in connection with seafarer employment in yachting.

Mayte Bruguera

Interior training Director & HR development International Luxury Training Yachts

Mayte Bruguera is a specialist in Leadership Development, Crew Welfare, and HR Strategy across the superyacht sector and the wider maritime industry, with over 30 years of experience in people development and 18 years in the maritime superyacht industry, supporting both onboard teams and shore-based organisations internationally.

She is Training Director & HR Development Lead at International Luxury Training Yachts, where she designs and delivers leadership, performance, and wellbeing programmes focused on crew retention, leadership capability, and interior operational excellence. She is particularly known for delivering leadership training and coaching for Chief Stewardesses and Heads of Department onboard some of the world’s most iconic superyachts, including vessels over 100 metres, and for creating bespoke training and development programmes tailored to yachts and private estates.

Mayte holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, with a specialization aligned to Organisational Development and Human Behaviour, bringing a strong behavioural foundation to leadership and team dynamics.

Earlier in her career, she held HR and talent roles within multinational corporations including Unilever Best Foods, Sanofi, and Valeo, and she also designed and implemented leadership and communication training programmes for the Winter Olympic Games, supporting large teams during live operations.

Mayte has advised private residences and yacht management companies across Monaco, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, and the UK, bringing a positive psychology orientation with practical approach to leadership, culture, and sustained high performance in demanding environments.