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An exciting new year and new leadership for AYSS
In celebration of AYSS’ successful year in 2021, we got to speak with their new chairman, Carlos Miquel. In this interview, Carlos shares with us his ongoing contributions to the Superyacht industry and tells us what he has in store for AYSS in the future.
Carlos was elected as Chairman of AYSS in October 2021 after serving for two consecutive terms as Vice-Chairman. Carlos Miquel joined AYSS in May 2018 when he was asked by SASYSS to take over the place on the council from CEO/COO of the SAYSS Tomas Miranda.
Who is Carlos Miquel?
Carlos Miquel is the Regional Director for North America, the Caribbean, and Europe for SASYSS, South American Superyacht Support Services. He joined SASYSS in 2014 and resides in Coral Springs, Florida. In his role, he handles all aspects related to promoting and educating about Chile, Patagonia, and Antarctica as a destination for private and charter superyachts. He is also involved in all the marketing aspects of SASYSS and conducts regular meetings with potential clients for the planning of their trips.
About Carlos Miquel
Originally from Chile, Carlos is of German descent and has been a resident of Florida since 1997. With the headquarters of AYSS located in Chile, it’s not uncommon for the chairman to visit often, usually 4-5 times per year. He enlightened us on his passion and enthusiasm for naval architecture and marine biology. This led to his studies in Germany, where he earned a master’s degree in civil engineering in hydraulics. Having lived in Chile, Germany, the Canary Islands, and the US, Carlos has held top management positions in several multi-national companies!
Despite being an engineer and before joining SASYSS, Carlos worked for 20 years with the Chilean wine and tourism industry promoting and educating about Chile and its wines in the US and worldwide.
Five Fun facts about Carlos Miquel:
- Carlos is trilingual – Spanish, German and English – having been born in Chile to 4th generation German immigrants back in the 1850s.
- Carlos has lived and worked in 4 different countries: Chile, Germany, Spain, and the USA
- During his spare time, the new AYSS chairman enjoys spending time boating, playing tennis, and traveling. He is a certified soccer referee, who worked as a tennis teacher and held a Florida USTA tennis ranking.
- Carlos sails competitively in the Olympic Star Class sailboats, where he currently holds a top 250 world ranking!
- Carlos spent the 1985 earthquake – the magnitude of 8.0 Mw – and the following tsunami in Chile on board a yacht only 30 km. from the epicenter – and is still here to tell about it.
A Note From the New AYSS Chairman:
During the pandemic, we have learned that yachts and captains need and appreciate working with reputable, serious, and honest agents. We offer them guidence to navigate through all the new and different regulations from county to country. Communication between captains and agents has become vital. For successful yacht deliveries, owner/charter cruises, and networking amongst all parties, it is more important than ever before to communicate. It will remain this way for years to come.
It is here, that AYSS as a global association has shown some of its values to captains, as well as to its members. We are happy to see that our membership of current and prospective members continues to grow. Although we are not completely out of the woods of the pandemic yet, most economists now believe the worst is behind us. I believe at AYSS we have been effective in increasing our relevance by sharpening our focus on the core elements of the Superyacht industry.
Recovery for some members might likely still be a bit bumpy. So, our collective efforts will continue in supporting those members in the best way we can. All done whist concentrating on continuing to grow our membership of full, associate, and corporate members, and perhaps introduce new categories of memberships. We will look to continue strengthening the AYSS brand through social media marketing which should benefit all members.
I look forward to a busy and successful year for all of our AYSS family!
Carlos, what is your plan for the future of AYSS?
I have presented a four-pillar program to our council members of four specific areas that I think we should work on as an Association. I cannot mention all of them, because some of them are still under discussion. However, three of our fundamental goals include: growing our membership, expanding our membership types, and continuing to grow our global presence and awareness through targeted Social Media and networking. As the current leading association of Yacht Support Services, we’re looking for more benefits for our members through strategic alliances with the marine industry partners and the general service industry.
Who are the current AYSS associate members?
At present, we have over 60 Superyacht Agencies from around the world that are part of our membership programme.
Do you plan to continue expanding the network?
Yes, definitely – this is one of our primary goals! There are many destinations in the world that superyachts visit, where we don’t have an AYSS affiliated superyacht agency. It’s all to come in 2022!
Tell us more about how the 2022 AYSS calendar is looking. Will we be seeing you attend any Superyacht Events this year?
At AYSS we are interested in not only growing our brand by sponsoring events but more importantly to have a physical presence at Boat Shows and Superyachts events around the globe. Networking in this industry is important! I am a firm believer in education – educating about what we do, where we are, the benefits for Captains and Superyachts when working with an AYSS affiliated member. But, also using our global network of agents to promote and educate about their destinations. As everyone in the yachting industry is aware, attending events has become more expensive and difficult due to travel restrictions. However, it remains in our 2022 plans to be present at several of the bigger boat shows in the US and Europe. I am also very keen to be present in other regions such as Asia, Australia, and perhaps the Middle East.
Following on from the success of the 30th anniversary of AYSS, is 2022 going to be even bigger?
We have plans that I cannot speak about at the moment yet, as we are still defining details. All of our members have seen one notable thing during the boat shows they have attended, i.e: Monaco, FLIBS, and Antigua Charter Yacht Show. This being that networking was very efficient as everyone missed the face-to-face meetings and contact. Therefore, we look forward to having more of our AYSS members attend 2022 yachting events. As well as, for our AGM in Monaco to be in an in-person event again this coming September.
Watch Now –
To find out more about membership of AYSS, please email admin@ayss.org, or to speak further with the new chairman, Carlos Miquel, email Chair@ayss.org
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