Lamberto Tacoli is well-known as the chairman of CRN, a position he has held since 2006. His entrepreneurial career in yachting dates to 1996. That’s when he purchased a minority stake in Custom Line. The Ferretti Group acquired Custom Line that same year. Since that time, Tacoli has put his managerial skills to work on behalf of both the Ferretti Group and CRN in various ways. In this interview, Tacoli explains what drew him to the sea as a child, and why he believes “passion” is the proper word to describe the way he and other yacht builders operate.
Megayacht News: People in your position often have a personal history with boats. When did you first become interested in boats, and what convinced you to pursue yachting as a career?
Lamberto Tacoli: When I was young, maybe 15 years more or less, I had a few friends who were yacht users. Specifically, there was a family involved in sailing regattas. I started to play with the sea quite young. At the same time, my family had a house along the coast, near a hotel, and I used to go look at the yachts. I started to look at the yachts with different eyes. Obviously at that time, it was impossible for me to know my future in the business. But, I remember at that time, the boats I liked the most were from Baglietto. In 1990, I had a good opportunity to join the industry because I spoke both English and French. There was a big company that had the idea to produce big yachts, in composite. I met Norberto Ferretti in 1995, and we created Custom Line together. Up to now I’ve been fully involved in the megayacht industry.
Megayacht News: In press conferences, you often use the word passion to describe what CRN does. What is your main passion: passion for yachts, passion for business, or passion working with different clients?
Lamberto Tacoli: Passion is the right word to describe the intense way we work in this industry. We say we have a strong passion for the yachts, which means the product. We have a lot of passion in trying to help the client find a better solution. It’s not passion for business—quality, yes, and we have an incredible passion for the industry. And when I say industry, I’m not talking just about CRN, I’m talking about all the yacht builders. Our business is a very tough business, with difficult products and difficult clients. When you offer custom-built projects, you know the starting point, but it can be difficult to know the ending point. But also passion is the right word because every single client has a different story for you. I’ve said many times that I started young building yachts, and I hope I finish old building yachts.
Megayacht News: CRN recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Do you ever feel the pressure of the past, since there is a lot of history?
Lamberto Tacoli: I know CRN from day one. When I started my company, it’s kind of a funny story: I signed my first contract onboard Azzurra, a CRN built 25 years ago, a very nice boat. So, I know quite well the history of CRN. I think CRN has changed in the past few years. I used to say that CRN in the past was known as a product, a few products. Many of the major architects came to CRN to build very nice vessels: Paola Smith, Gerhard Gilgenast, Terence Disdale. Now with the Ferretti Group, we’ve made a huge investment in the yard and the production. I think the first 50 years are a good point to make better in the next 50. We achieved 50 with very nice products, so I hope we can continue in that way and leave the right history for the next 25.
Megayacht News: In CRN’s recent history, what milestones or yachts do you think are among the most significant?
Lamberto Tacoli: When I close my eyes and think about the most important moments of the past 10 years, for sure I’d say one is the launch of Ability. This was our first 54-meter. The idea was for CRN to enter megayacht production in a strong way. For sure, too, there’s the launch and delivery of Chopi Chopi. Chopi Chopi, for many reasons, was a big challenge for us and a very important yacht in terms of volume and CRN entering a different competition arena. Then also there’s the tender bay of J’Ade. Not for the result, but for the process, from the idea to create a tender bay to the final yacht built with the bay. It was a long history, and now the tender bay is one of our strategy points for our new projects.
Megayacht News: CRN has a renewed focus on the U.S. market. Are you promoting certain styles or technologies to American buyers? Or are American clients coming to you with their own ideas?
Lamberto Tacoli: The U.S. market is number one in the world. For an international, successful company, the U.S. must be a major focus. We hope to have Chopi Chopi in Miami in the next few months, to present our products to brokers and clients. And, with the new Conero designs, we have an important entry-level product for U.S. clients. It’s the right size for buyers over 100 feet. The new 40- and 44-meters will be the big opportunities for us in the U.S. market. We’ll start promoting that during the Miami show. We have one specific arrangement for the United States. We have a couple of prospects we’re working with, too.
American clients have very clear ideas. The idea of the product is different in terms of draft, in terms of volume, in terms of specific requirements for air conditioning or specific layouts. But I think the main issue for these boat owners is draft.
Megayacht News: Given CRN’s primary focus on yachts from 40 to 80 meters, is there any one style or size that seems to be most attractive to buyers right now?
Lamberto Tacoli: It’s difficult to say, because the product is an evolving process. But over the past 10 years, all the designers and the shipyards worked a lot on volume and on opening parts close to the bilge to make the volume even more huge. In my opinion, the more classic products, cleaner-looking, are more important. There’s pushing of extremes a little less in some aspects. But, we are continuing to offer our beach club, our tender bay, and our big volume with a lot of light so even a contemporary, modern style is clean.
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