Gather a few hundred people for a long evening’s event, and chances are some will talk through the stage presentations. Now gather them during a boat show, where everyone has spent 12 hours meeting with clients, and attention wanes further. This wasn’t the case last week during the annual International Superyacht Society awards gala, however. In fact, everyone snapped to attention–and many rose to a standing ovation–when Alice Huisman, managing director of Royal Huisman, received the Leadership Award.
The Superyacht Society bestows the award on an individual or company responsible for growing the global megayacht community through distinctive work and industry commitment. Alice (middle, with Eric van Hulst, the yard’s technical director, at left and Bert Loof, the yard’s finance director, at right) has certainly done that. The fourth generation of Huismans to run the yard, Alice has steadily grown it as one of the most well respected superyacht builders. More so, she has done this in just four years as the managing director.
From the restoration of the famed J Class yacht Endeavor to building custom yachts like the 155-foot Hyperion, Royal Huisman is responsible for many fine superyachts. Alice’s father Wolter, the grandson of the founder, grew the yard from a few dozen craftspeople to a few hundred. Additionally, he adopted Alustar (a lightweight aluminum) and advanced composites for construction. When Wolter died in 2004, Alice became managing director. She’d spent 24 years at the yard, and because it was a family-run business, she was a natural choice. Still, there was some concern because of the significant impact of Wolter: What would happen to the venerable Royal Huisman?
Alice was more than up to the challenge of quelling any fears. Besides the years she put in, she knew the yacht world inside and out. This was a person, after all, whose normal family dinners included the likes of famed designer Olin Stephens.
Since becoming managing director, Alice has overseen some 29 yacht projects. They include the completion of the 295-foot schooner Athena and the 118-foot classic motoryacht Arcadia. “Wolter’s spirit prevails through Alice and her team,” George Nicholson, the founder of Camper & Nicholson, said in a statement. (Nicholson is last year’s Leadership Award recipient.)
When Alice approached the podium, even those at the back of the ballroom could see more emotion through her ever-present smile. “I’m stunned, I’m thrilled, I’m excited,” she said, her voice slightly trembling. “With the list of people who’ve won this award, I’m honored.” She thanked the yard’s craftsmen and clients like Jim Clark, the owner of Athena and Hyperion, for believing in her.
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