GMBA

Global Marine Business Advisors

Management Introductions

Godfrey Zwygart

CHINA AND ASIA

Experience

Frenchman Godfrey Zwygart is a former captain and chief engineer who spent decades in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Originally trained in the French Naval Academy he served on both navy and merchant ships and as captain on mega yachts. He moved to Asia in the 80’s as a boat builder in Taiwan, and now specializes in development, management and marketing of world class international yacht marinas and yacht clubs.

 

In 2010 Zwygart moved to Sanya to build and act as general manager operations of the multi-awards winning Sanya Serenity Marina. The 5 gold anchors platinum marina has been a host twice for the Volvo Ocean Race, as well as the Clipper Race and the youth world sailing championships.

 

Zwygart then established Marevisio Co Limited, aiming to help marinas and super yachts brands in the Asian region through management consultancy, training, and services. Zwygart has published two books as well as a large number of articles in Chinese and he is a prominent figure in China’s yachting and marine industry.

 

As foreign expert for the Hainan government, he collaborates with the local government on the development of the Hainan free trade port.

 

Zwygart is fluent in French, English, Italian and Chinese.

Regional Expertise

China and Asia

Recent Insights

Knut Heiberg-Andersen

NORWAY

Experience

As a young International Management Trainee in a large cement and building material conglomerate, Knut was invited to manage one of their subsidiaries, FJORD PLAST AS, which at the time was one of the largest boat industries in Europe. 

 

Little did Knut know that this would be his lifetime engagement and passion.

 

After running their operations in the Philippines for a number of years, Knut moved on to become the Managing Director of the Fjord Company and on behalf of Norcem AS, sold it to an outside group.

 

Eight years later a close friend asked Knut to help with WINDY & DRACO,  a project estimated to take  2- 3 years to complete. This “project” has lasted since 1990 and the name of WINDY is today synonymous with the very best of Scandinavian quality.

 

Knut steered WINDY Through exciting and challenging times with a team of the most competent and passionate co-workers and has left a legacy of respect for conduct and “inside-out-quality” which only the few have had the pleasure of experiencing.  Over the years Knut offered his time and services to national marine associations as well as contributing to the European marine organization we have today.

 

Over the years Knut has offered his time and services to national marine associations as well as contributing to the European marine organization we have today.

 

After 29 years at the helm of WINDY BOATS AS, Knut is now overseeing the development of his life-long passion, WINDY, as Chairman and Mentor.

Regional expertise:

Regional Expertise

Norway

Recent Insights

Piotr Jasionowski

Piotr Jasionowski

POLAND

Experience

Piotr Jasionowski is a shipbuilding engineer with 30 years’ experience in the shipbuilding industry.

 

He gained invaluable experience during his 25 years at the Ostróda shipyard in Poland, which has been a part of the French Beneteau Group since 2001. Piotr’s passion is the industrialization of yacht and boat production processes with a focus on automation and increased efficiency. He is a technical production expert and a pioneer in the industrialization of serial production of boats and yachts in Poland. He also served in numerous management positions, most notably that of managing director and president of the board of “Ostróda Yacht”.

 

Industry development and government advocacy is close to Piotr’s heart. He is the co-founder of the Polish Association of the Yacht Industry, which in 2001 was transformed into the Polish Chamber of Yachting Industry and Water Sports – POLBOAT. Since its inception, he has been actively working for the development of the yachting industry, serving as a member of the management board of the organization. He served as country representative at ICOMIA and since 2017, he has been the vice-president of the EBI – the European federation of the boating industry based in Brussels.

 

Piotr is fluent in English, Polish and Russian.

Regional Expertise

Poland

Recent Insights

Yavuz Sipahi

Yavuz Sipahi

TURKEY

Experience

Yavuz Sipahi started his illustrious career in the marine sector 52 years ago with a solid career in the Turkish Navy, retiring from active service as a staff commander in 1984.

 

He started his first boatbuilding firm in the Bodrum region, focusing mainly on the ever popular Turkish gullets. The company expanded to component manufacturing, yacht maintenance and refurbishment projects.

 

He joined Atakoy Marina in İstanbul as Technical Manager in 1989 where he was able to get first hand experience of marina management and maintenance. Always eager to take on new challenegs, he later left to join BURLA group where he was the General Manager for the Marine Division until his retirement in mid- 2020.

 

He has been an active part of numerous local and international industry bodies, and has served as board member and President on a number of occasions. His experience includes years of service in DENTUR /YATED, YATEF, ADF, DDD, DTO, TRYIAD in Turkey, ICOMIA.

 

Yavuz is excited about the myriad opportunities in the marine sector and looks forward to sharing his knowledge and expertise with the next generation of business and industry leaders.

Regional Expertise

Turkey

Recent Insights

Dr Thomas Dammrich, DBA

USA

Experience

Twenty years leading the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) has given Dr. Thomas Dammrich, DBA, a deep understanding the recreational marine industry in North America. With thirty years of experience as a CEO, he is currently advising organizations on business strategy and has broad experience in organizational development, trade and consumer shows, marketing, advocacy, board service, and research. He has done ground-breaking research for the marine industry as part of his Doctoral program.

 

Dammrich currently serves as a member of the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation Board of Directors which he Chaired from 2005 to 2007, as a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Management Committee for the Center for Sportfish Policy, is a member of the Board of the Future Anglers Foundation and the Board of Directors of Wintrust Bank and Niven Marketing. Dammrich is a two-time President of the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA).

 

Dammrich has a BA in Economics, an MBA in Finance, an MS in Accountancy, and a Doctorate of Business Administration, all from DePaul University in Chicago. He is a member of the NMMA Hall of Fame, ASA Sportfishing Hall of Fame, Boating Safety Hall of Fame.

Regional Expertise

North America

Insights

Kai Malmivaara

MIDDLE EAST

Experience

Kai is a Dubai based business executive with more than 30 years’ experience in different international businesses, including shipping, oil and gas, import export, real estate, construction, asset management, private equity investment and business consulting. Kai has been member of the board in more than 40 companies and in several of those he has acted as a chairman.

 

The focus of his work has been in consulting and building up businesses, creating and developing strategies and business plans, monitoring and directing the business operations and in building long term value of the concerned corporations. He combines the understanding of legal and contractual issues with general business understanding. In particular Kai is specialized international negotiations and has a good understanding of different types of industrial contracts.

 

Kai has lived in Dubai since 2005 and has played a central role in building Middle East business for Marinetek Group, acting as Managing Director and Chairman of the Board of Marinetek Middle East and Asia. In this role he has gained an in-depth knowledge of marine related business in the area and has established good network with different actors in the field.
Kai is fluent in English, Finnish and Swedish language. He has a master’s degree in law (LL.M.) from the University of Helsinki and MBA degree from IMD, Switzerland.

Regional Expertise

UAE

Recent Insights