The Seven Year Itch?

Actually, no. Irrespective of the fact it was 7 years ago that I joined Princess.

It was the playwright George Axelrod who popularised that phrase back in the 50s, with the help of Marilyn Monroe in the film adaptation of his work. The phrase implies that time is somehow the ultimate dictator, but the reality – in my case specifically - couldn’t be further from the truth. Emotion is. And so, I find myself, here today, after 7 years at the helm of the Princess brand, stepping back from my monogamous relationship with the exceptional yacht company that has worked tirelessly to raise the bar for branding across the yacht industry. Correction: it wasn’t the “company” that did that. It was its people. The 3200-strong workforce all here in the Southwest of England. And to be really precise, the incredible marketing team (including amazing agencies) that has been formed over the last 7 years, to be, quite possibly, the most powerful marketing force the industry has ever seen.

The 7 years were filled with “world firsts”: The first luxury yacht brand to stamp out the use of single-use plastics and serve only sustainable produce at our events globally (before it was fashionable to do so); the first luxury yacht company to officially partner with the Marine Conservation Society; the first yacht company to re-invent the web experience using award-winning geo-location; the first yacht company to have a TV commercial in Game Of Thrones AND have a product film premiere in the cinema trailer to Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ (I must admit, that was epically cool); the first modern luxury yacht brand to film product on 35mm… the list feels endless as I think back over the achievements these past 7 years. Personally, I am so pleased with the overall environmental push during my time here, but of course the R35 'Red Thread' on location on the island of Islote off the coast of Colombia and manga anime films were incredible moments. As well as the Esperanza Spalding 'I Know You Know' sound tracked continuous motion film made aboard a 35 metre Princess with the amazing team at Craft Films. Real people. On real boats. With real crew. It was bliss... on film.

None of that was achievable without the most incredible team of conscientious people being huddled together in an office overlooking Stonehouse creek in Plymouth – although one team member had to hold the fort in Hong Kong and another in Florida, too. All talented, all brilliant, but most importantly, all willing to work together and challenge the norm. We seldomly looked within the industry for inspiration or benchmarks and went totally off-piste to get that right balance of emotion and rational response that is required to impart the world of luxury yachts to a totally new audience. We used personality to go all the way at our events, and worked alongside some of the best creative, construction, digital, film and experiential agencies to deliver an intimate and human experience within a world of glass fibre and resin. We also partnered with the most exceptional people to bring our brand partnerships to life. And, well, you might think I am biased when I say I have also been privileged to have had the world’s greatest PA to puppeteer me through it all, but I am yet to have anybody prove me wrong on that feeling, so it is true as far as I am concerned.

I feel like a little syrupy chunk now sits within the heart of the brand, tripping riffs from Frank Zappa or Rage Against The Machine… or even Antonio Carlos Jobim – when the moment requires it. That, and the Darwin-esque disruption (or anarchy?!) that motivated us back in 2015 to put Princess on the map and to peel it away from a cottage industry construct will undoubtedly be something that I can proudly look back on as a career defining moment. However, if there is only one single thing I am most proud of from my time at Princess, it is the culture I have played a part to create. Not just within the company, but also across the industry, and I could not have done that without an exceptional team and exceptional industry peers. It is simply a culture where one does not take themself seriously but takes everyone and everything they come into contact with extremely seriously. When you do that, you make magic. You change the world. And everyone can feel it instantly, because when that happens you are truly, and perpetually, ‘doing the right thing’.

It has been an amazing 7 years in which I have seen the business find its groove, take its product quality to new heights, and grow an order book out past 2024 at a value in excess of US$1billion... but now the time has come where I must move on. I will hand over the reins to my exceptional team and step away at the end of 2021, relocating with my family overseas to start a new chapter. An incredibly exciting adventure into the world of tourism, heritage and culture on a giga-project like no other. I’ll let you know more about that in the first few months of 2022!

To all those beautiful people who have taught me, inspired me, believed in me, and helped me - and even to some of those folks who didn’t because they didn’t quite understand that marketing is not simply a process or a data study, but that it is ultimately anthropological … ... Rock On!

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