Yacht Femme Names 15 Women's Yachting Award Finalists

Yacht Femme has named fifteen finalists for the 2026 Women's Yachting Awards, recognising work across the superyacht sector from yacht command and design to shipbuilding management, brokerage support and entrepreneurship. The finalists were introduced aboard the 42-metre GX42 during the Monaco Yacht Show on 23 September, with a fresh report published on 13 October and the awards ceremony scheduled for 17 November at METSTRADE in Amsterdam.

Organiser Yacht Femme publishes five finalists in each of three categories: Rising Star, Entrepreneur and Trailblazer. The shortlist is therefore an announcement of nominees rather than winners. The final outcome remains to be decided at the November ceremony, and the profiles span companies, sailing yachts, builders and supporting services rather than one type of role.

Fifteen finalists and three distinct categories

Yacht Femme divides the honours into Rising Star of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year and Trailblazer of the Year. The first recognises the development and impact of people relatively early in their careers, the second focuses on building and growing maritime businesses, and the third acknowledges women changing expectations and leadership standards over time.

That distinction matters because a yacht captain, an interior designer, a shipyard executive and the founder of a technology company contribute in different ways. Comparing them as though they compete for one technical trophy would overlook the breadth of the industry; the three-category format instead invites attention to operational experience, commercial ideas and lasting influence.

Rising Star finalists include captains and designers

The Rising Star shortlist comprises Dilan Saraç, executive director of The Superyacht Life Foundation; Ella Maree Holmes, yacht captain of sailing yacht DAKOTA; Nazenin Dino, senior interior designer at Hot Lab; Rachele Bertuccioli, group commercial manager at SOS Yachting; and Stina Krause, head of business development and strategy at Abeking & Rasmussen. The selection deliberately includes both people whose careers take them to sea and those who advance maritime projects ashore.

These nominations connect the experience of life aboard yachts with the systems that enable the industry to function ashore. Interior design affects how owners and guests occupy large yachts, commercial and regulatory specialists support their operation, and shipyard business development shapes future construction opportunities. A rising-star award gives visibility to those contributions rather than focusing solely on the most prominent founders.

Entrepreneurs with businesses serving yachting

Entrepreneur of the Year finalists are Carla Guilhem of C. Guilhem Design, Deborah Fry of Yacht Trace, Katharina List-Nagl of F/LIST, Katy Jeffcoate of IntusHQ and Samantha Moore of Professional Women in Yachting. Yacht Femme lists their positions respectively in creative design, company leadership, technology and industry community-building.

These businesses have different customers and operating models, but all sit within the wider yachting economy. A large-yacht project depends on design expertise, manufacturers, records and traceability, and professionals who can organise people and services. The award recognises how these business activities are developed, not an identical measure of revenue, fleet size or employment.

Experienced leaders on the Trailblazer shortlist

The Trailblazer category brings together Barbara Amerio, chief executive at Amer Yachts; Barrett Wright, president at Hill Robinson USA; Captain Patricia Caswell, general manager at Superyacht Service Centre; Isabella Picco, head of marketing and communication at Tankoa Yachts; and Sarah Flavell, marketing manager at Damen Yachting. Their nominations recognise senior expertise across yacht construction, communication, professional services and operational leadership.

Several names will be familiar to owners, captains, brokers and shipyard teams, but the shortlisted roles are not interchangeable. Shipbuilders coordinate complex construction programmes, management specialists work across operations and shore support, and communications teams translate specialist capabilities into clear market information. Recognition of senior leaders also raises the visibility of career routes for the next generation.

Announcement aboard a 42-metre superyacht

The shortlist was revealed at a Monaco Yacht Show gathering aboard the recently unveiled GX42, a 42-metre GX Superyachts vessel. Hosting the announcement aboard a working superyacht placed the recognition alongside the builders and operators who employ or collaborate with many of the finalists, rather than presenting the awards as a generic business networking exercise.

GX42's role was to host the event, not to act as an award nominee, and the yacht's appearance should not be confused with the November prize ceremony in Amsterdam. The dates are also distinct: the finalists were announced on 23 September, reported again in industry media on 13 October, and the actual selection of winners remains scheduled for 17 November.

What the recognition means for superyacht operations

Large yachts require a long chain of professional work that does not always appear in photographs of launches or brokerage listings. Technical management, crewing, compliance, exterior and interior design, provisioning, maintenance and shipyard production all rely on specialists whose decisions influence the safety and comfort of everyone aboard.

Greater visibility for professional achievement can help prospective recruits understand that an industry career is not restricted to becoming a deck officer or starting a sales brokerage. The presence of nominees in law-adjacent support, design, engineering-related suppliers and business development reflects the breadth of employment available across the sector.

A November ceremony at METSTRADE

Yacht Femme confirms the Women’s Yachting Awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday, 17 November 2026, during METSTRADE in Amsterdam. The show's own programme lists the event for 13:15 in the Superyacht Zone, placing it within a wider week of professional meetings, product displays and discussions about yacht operations.

The timing creates a platform for the finalists to meet industry representatives who do not necessarily attend the same boat shows, but a finalist's presence or participation should not be presumed before the organiser confirms arrangements. Any published results should be checked against the organiser's official announcement after the event rather than copied from an unofficial social-media prediction.

Yacht Femme's purpose and what happens next

Yacht Femme was established as a network and media platform to highlight women working in yachting and to connect professionals through events and other activities. Its 2026 awards page publishes the complete finalist lists, organisational partners and its selection framework, giving editors and readers a more reliable starting point than unsourced lists circulated after boat shows.

The 2026 shortlist is significant for its spread across captaincy, yacht manufacturing, design, management and specialist services. The newsroom will distinguish the confirmed nominations from any eventual winners and treat November's result as a separate future development; today the verified news is the fifteen-person shortlist and the coming Amsterdam ceremony.