With more than two decades of yachting experience in North America, Federico Ferrante is now the head of sales for Benetti.
Ferrante succeeds Nick Bischoff, who recently departed after six years to establish his own consultancy. Ferrante has spent 25 years with the Azimut-Benetti Group, mostly with Azimut-Benetti USA. In fact, he’s been the president of Azimut-Benetti USA since 2010, based in South Florida. Overall, he has spent three decades in the maritime industry.
In his new position, Ferrante will continue to grow Benetti’s presence not only in the United States, but throughout all of the Americas. According to the Group, there is “unexplored development potential” from Canada to Chile.
In terms of the United States, several of the semi-custom Benetti megayacht models have attracted strong interest. For example, the first Benetti Oasis 40M, Rebeca, went to an American owner, namely Tim Ciasulli. Since her delivery in 2020, several more Oasis models have seen delivery to U.S. buyers. The hallmark of the Oasis lineup is an open-air, expandable beach area. Aboard the Oasis 40M, it’s 969 square feet (90 square meters) of multifunctional space and no barriers. It includes an infinity pool, too, perhaps the most noticeable feature to those strolling by along the docks.
Yet another range that American clients have gravitated towards is the Benetti Motopanfilo series. The first to premiere, the Motopanfilo 37M, features details from some classic Benetti launches from the 1960s while simultaneously incorporating modern flair and conveniences. Carl Pickering of Lazzarini Pickering Architetti, which designed the Motopanfilo lineup, stresses that it’s not a retro exercise. “It’s not nostalgic,” Pickering says. “We wanted to design a yacht, not a house.”
Of course, fully custom Benettis continue to appeal to U.S. owners, as do the semi-custom Class projects.
Ferrante is based in the longtime Benetti office in Fort Lauderdale.
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