Paolo Vitelli, Chairman of the Italian yacht building firm Azimut-Benetti passed away on December 31 after an accident in his home. He was 77.
Azimut-Benetti reigns as one of the luxury yacht market’s leaders and remains one of the most innovative. And, Vitelli remained until his death a towering figure in yacht building. The Azimut-Benetti Group is regarded as the world’s leading mega-yacht builder, a position it has held for the last 24 years.
The company is run by Vitelli’s daughter Giovanna Vitelli who joined her father in 2000 and ascended to the chairmanship in 2023. Over the last four years, the Group’s sales have increased by 55% and in 2024 had receipts of 1.3 billion Euros.
But it wasn’t always that way. Paolo Vitelli got involved in the yachting business in 1969 at the age of 22 when he founded a yacht chartering firm under the Azimut banner that grew into a yacht dealership. In 1975 he launched his first custom flybridge power cruisers called the Bali 43.
1n 1982, Azimut began to expand sales into the oil-rich countries of the middle East with the introduction of the Failaka 105, which at the time was the largest fiberglass-hulled boat ever built. This move set Vitelli on the path to dominating the mega-yacht segment of the market.
Over the next five decade, Azimut-Benetti became the most prolific builder of super yachts, as measured by linear feet launched annually. Since 1985, the company has delivered no fewer than 485 super yachts.
A hands-on manager and constant innovator, Vitelli never lost the excitement of carrying a new design full of his new concepts from the design table to the final christening at launch. Each yacht was a journey that her enjoyed.
The company he built is in Giovanna’s capable hands and will continue to grow and thrive. But the impresario behind will be gone and missed by the entire yachting world.
Read more in The Robb Report here.
https://robbreport.com/motors/marine/paolo-vitelli-obituary-1236144750/
