For the past five years, Enrico Gennasio (below) has been investing in Cantieri di Pisa to re-establish the 80-year-old yacht builder in the international market. He’s now taken on further duties as sole director, overseeing operations and management.
The additional responsibilities come following the departure of Marco Massabò as CEO. He joined Cantieri di Pisa in September 2021 in that role, working with Gennasio to re-establish the shipyard’s construction and refit business. Although he doesn’t address the departure, Gennasio does say in a statement, “In recent years, we have worked to restore Cantieri di Pisa to being a productive company, preserving its wealth of experience and laying the groundwork for solid and sustainable growth.” Additionally, he says, the goal is to continue focusing on refit while relaunching the new-construction division.
When Gennasio acquired the yard, it followed a tumultuous decade for the facilities and brand. Although it had risen to international prominence, including in the United States, in the 1990s, it shuttered operations in 2010. Mondomarine acquired it in 2015, but began layoffs in early 2017, filing for bankruptcy liquidation itself within several months. A bankruptcy court awarded ownership to Sea Finance, a Genoa-based company, in 2018. Despite a ribbon-cutting ceremony in February 2019, with plans to improve the site and to finish three partially built megayachts, no progress occurred. Adding to the difficulties, financial concessions for use of the property were set to expire in 2021.
With concessions in place through 2040, Gennasio brought refit business and invested in new designs. Cantieri di Pisa also signed its first new build in some time, a custom 40-meter that harkens to its history. For a European owner, the 131-footer (40-meter) is a flying-bridge motoryacht, a style long associated with the shipyard. She also will bear dark stripes reminiscent of the yard’s famed Akhir series. Yet another important distinction, the superyacht is the first entirely metal yacht in Cantieri di Pisa’s history. Launch takes place next year, with her international debut at that fall’s Cannes Yachting Festival.
In the meantime, Gennasio indicates hiring more craftspeople and investing in new designs are in the works. So, too, are infrastructure improvements.
Cantieri di Pisa cantieridipisa.com
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