Heesen Expands Global Commercial Team with Three Senior Appointments

Heesen Yachts has strengthened its international commercial organisation with three senior appointments spanning the Netherlands, the United States and Monaco. The move places experienced sales leadership closer to several of the shipyard’s most important client and brokerage markets as the European autumn yacht-show season approaches.

Folkert Schoots, Sipke Halbertsma and Roxane Ducruet have joined Heesen’s commercial team, adding direct representation in Oss, Florida and Monaco. Heesen says the structure is intended to provide closer support for clients and key industry stakeholders while connecting regional market knowledge more directly with the shipyard in the Netherlands.

Three appointments across key superyacht markets

The appointments expand a commercial network that already includes Heesen’s established sales activity in Europe and the Middle East. Rather than concentrating client contact around a single central office, the new structure gives the yard senior commercial representation in the Netherlands, the Americas and Monaco, with Hisham Abushakra continuing as Heesen’s designated sales agent in Dubai.

The changes follow a period of investment and development under Heesen’s new Dutch ownership, according to the shipyard. They also build on the dedicated Monaco sales presence announced earlier in 2026, when Heesen opened an office there and appointed Lyam Last as Sales Manager.

Folkert Schoots takes the commercial lead in Oss

Folkert Schoots has been appointed Commercial Director and will be based at Heesen’s shipyard in Oss. Heesen says he brings more than fourteen years of experience with a leading Dutch full-custom superyacht builder, covering marketing, new-build sales, refit and service, and resale.

That breadth gives the Oss-based role a direct connection to several stages of a yacht’s commercial lifecycle rather than new-build sales alone. With the shipyard itself remaining the centre of Heesen’s design, engineering and construction activity, the position also provides a central point between regional sales teams and the yard.

Sipke Halbertsma leads Heesen’s American commercial activity

Sipke Halbertsma becomes Commercial Director – America and will work from Heesen’s Florida office, with responsibility across the United States and South America. Heesen says Halbertsma spent more than twelve years with another leading Dutch superyacht builder before joining the company.

The Florida role gives Heesen senior commercial representation inside one of the world’s most active large-yacht markets while maintaining a direct link with Oss. For brokers, prospective owners and existing Heesen clients in the region, the arrangement is designed to make shipyard-level commercial support more accessible without removing the connection to the Dutch build operation.

Roxane Ducruet joins the Monaco sales team

Roxane Ducruet has joined Heesen as Sales Director – Monaco after nearly a decade working in the Monaco yachting market. She joins Lyam Last, who remains active in the principality as Sales Manager following the establishment of Heesen’s dedicated Monaco office earlier this year.

Monaco gives the shipyard a permanent base in a market that concentrates owners, brokers, managers and other professional advisers throughout the Mediterranean season. Heesen’s current structure therefore combines the Monaco office with the central Oss operation, the Florida commercial team and its established representation in Dubai.

Heesen positions the team ahead of the autumn yacht shows

Chief executive Jeroen van der Meer said the expanded commercial team is in place as Heesen enters the autumn yacht-show season, with the yard continuing to focus on yacht construction and its relationships with brokers and clients. The appointments indicate that Heesen is pairing its production and engineering activity with a more geographically distributed sales organisation.

For the shipyard, the significance is less the creation of a new sales territory than the addition of senior people in markets where Heesen already has strategic interests and client relationships. With Schoots in Oss, Halbertsma in Florida, Ducruet and Last in Monaco, and Abushakra continuing in Dubai, the company now presents a more clearly defined commercial structure across several of the principal centres of the international superyacht market.