Mark Bononi of MHG Marine Benefits
In 1996, Mark graduated from St. Louis University with a B.S. degree in Aviation Science. For the next 8 years, he flew professionally as a private charter pilot and instructor, and after moving to Florida with his wife, continued flying to the Bahamas and Caribbean islands for another year. Shortly thereafter he elected to change careers and interestingly found the marine crew insurance industry through MHG and has not looked back since. For the last 2 years, Mark has been focused on yacht crew benefits and has furthered his travels to go wherever superyachts are floating. Because the yacht crew lifestyle and overall career experience is virtually identical to that of a pilot, he ‘fits in’ and identifies with yacht crew very well. Mark’s involvement with the USSA gives him an opportunity to help improve the yacht crew work environment through education, stress relief, and by advocating on their behalf, providing him with a great sense of satisfaction.

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Mark A. Cline of Cline Financial Group
Mark is an independent advisor and a chartered senior financial planner licensed to facilitate a full range of financial and insurance products. Mark believes in the diversification of financial portfolios and focuses on low risk preservation of wealth products.  Having gone through the cycle of a career captain and father he had to make the choice between land and sea.  Mark started in the financial services industry over a decade ago.  He understands the lifestyle of captains and crew and through Capital Marine Alliance and Cline Financial Group serves the yachting industry with practical experience. 

Realizing that most people require a gentle push into planning for their future, Mark works with one individual or a couple at a time.  He also works with business owners to show them the latest financial planning strategies available. Mark listens to accomplishments and challenges and is able to make solid recommendations to meet current and future needs.
He has been honored with the “Heart of a Champion” award and has his portrait is prominently displayed on the distinguished “Wall of Fame”.  These awards were for his dedication to excellence for meeting the needs of his clients.  Mark has also been a Winner’s Circle Member for the past nine years, based on outstanding achievements made on his clients’ behalf.

In this rapidly changing economy, Mark participates in financial training, both as a teacher and student on a regular basis. It is through this commitment to education and financial knowledge, as well as, his team of independent advisors, that Mark brings a wide array of financial products, tools and opportunities to the individuals and families he serves.

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Rupert Connor of Luxury Yacht Group
Rupert Connor is president of Luxury Yacht Group, and is actively involved in every aspect of operations within the company including charter, yacht management, crew placement, and he is a licensed sales broker.

Rupert hails from Buckinghamshire, England, and moved to the U.S. in 1999 after spending nine years at sea as a professional yacht captain. He made his first delivery in 1988, and since then, has navigated 6 Atlantic crossings, 2 Pacific crossings, 4 passages in the Suez Canal and 2 passages in the Panama Canal. He adds a youthful dynamic to the yachting industry with his extensive knowledge of the seas, and fresh ideas on business.

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Tim Davey of GMT Travel
Tim Davey is a native New Zealander currently living in Fort Lauderdale. Davey’s background includes nine years at sea in the cruise industry before moving ashore to work in the Private Yacht industry. Davey currently owns and operates a specialized travel agency dedicated to assisting crew and industry associated personnel to move around the world in an economic and efficient way.

Davey is the driving force behind GMT’s continued successful growth and expansion. His dedication to provide his clients with the most competitive prices and quality personal service has gained the attention of his peers and competitors. Only five years after opening its Headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, GMT has branch offices in Dover, England, Vancouver, Canada and most recently Sydney, Australia.

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Karen Dudden-Blake of Palladium Technologies, Inc.
Karen Dudden-Blake is Vice President of Palladium Technologies, Inc. and as co-owner with her husband Mike they have grown their marine industry software company into an industry leader. For the last seven years she has headed up the office operations which have included everything from employee relations to ensuring product recognition of their flagship monitoring system Simon, through strong marketing efforts utilizing public relations and trade show appearances. The Palladium product line is used almost exclusively on yachts over 100’ with the average project now measuring 180’ and above.

Karen was at the inception of the US Superyacht Association and as one of the original charter members has been honored with the position of the associations’ first Chairperson since October of 2006. In that time she, along with others, have devoted a tremendous amount of time and effort in gaining national as well as international recognition in the mega yacht community with a clear direction of purpose.

Karen’s marine experience started in 1994, when she and her husband spent two years building their own custom 70’ aluminum light displacement cutter rig sailboat. Over the next six years the two traveled over 25,000 off shore miles while visiting remote areas of the Caribbean and Central America. While traveling, Karen was able to expand her travel photography and marketing skills further while Mike developed yet another software product for yachts. Although they still live on their sailboat it has had little offshore activity while Palladium Technologies as well as other pursuits have kept them quite busy.

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Michael Karcher of Karcher, Canning & Karcher, P.A.
Michael R. Karcher is a member of the Miami law firm of Karcher, Canning & Karcher, P.A. He practices in the area of admiralty and maritime law, specializing in recreational yachts, marine environmental law and insurance issues. He is a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States, the Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute and has served as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the Florida Department of Natural Resources. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law teaching the Marine Pollution Seminar and Marine Ecology and the Law and has been a regular contributor to the Marine Business Journal and Southern Boating magazines.

He is the current chairman of the Miami Marine Arbitration Council, the past President of the Marine Council of Greater Miami, and continues has their Program and Seminar Chairman. He has lectured at seminars for the Marine Industries Association of South Florida, the Florida Yacht Brokers Association and various boating groups in South Florida.

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Michael Kazakoff of the Seatrade Organization
Michael Kazakoff joined the Seatrade Organization, a United Kingdom based publishing and event organizing company, in 1983 as sales and business development manager.

In 1988, Kazakoff moved to the United States and was named vice president with the overall responsibility for the business development and operations for Seatrade Organization's parent company, Hong Kong Trade Fair Group. In 2001, Seatrade North America Inc was acquired by CMP LLC and Kazakoff was named president of CMP Princeton, Inc.

Kazakoff's extensive business experience includes trade publishing, exhibitions and conferences including Naftiliaki and Seatrade Review magazines, Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention, International Superyacht Symposium, Panamerican Leather Fair, Si Source International and affiliations with China International Boat Show, Marintec China, Tissue World Americas and Posidonia the Greek Shipping Expo.

He has worked closing with various trade associations and charities including International Association Exhibition and Events, Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, Cruise Lines International Association, North West CruiseShip Association, United States Superyacht Association, National Sound Contractors Association, Cruise Industry Charitable Foundation and the FCCA Charitable Foundation. Kazakoff is personally affiliated with the Princeton Chamber of Commerce.

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John J. Mann of Bluewater Books & Charts
John J. Mann is the co-owner and President of Bluewater Books & Charts, a retail business with locations in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Newport, RI. In his role as President, John manages the day-to-day operations of sales and marketing at Bluewater, which is one of the largest and most respected retailers of paper navigational charts, electronic charts, cruising guides, nautical books and navigational tools. In seven years of ownership, John and his wife, Vivien, have acquired Armchair Sailor in Newport, RI, established a separate mail order facility in Dania Beach, FL, and relocated the original Bluewater store to a larger location in the Harbor Shops Plaza. Prior to the joining the marine industry, John spent over thirty years in sales, marketing and general management positions with The Pillsbury Company, Kraft/General Foods and Coopers & Lybrand. As a charter member of USSA, John has devoted significant time to the formation of the association and as an honorary director.. John is also a Board member of Marine Industries of South Florida (MIASF) and a member of the Lauderdale Yacht Club.

John's interest, experience and passion have helped to expand the association His varied background in the business world and lifelong boating interest makes him well suited to the Board of USSA. He is in an excellent position to liaise with MIASF and other trade associations that represent the superyacht segment. With his daily contact with large yacht captains, crew, and owners at Bluewater he is constantly updated on issues that are timely and important to the superyacht segment of the global marine market.

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David Reed of The Triton Publication
David Reed is the publisher and co-founder of The Triton, an international monthly newspaper for large yacht crew. Just celebrating its third year of publication, The Triton has established itself as one of the most valuable news sources in the industry.

David’s marine credentials go back to 1975 when he moved onto a sailboat as a child with his parents. For the next decade, they traveled the Caribbean and David learned every facet of sailing, boat maintenance and seamanship aboard that 35-foot Cheoy Lee. At age 12, he began working summers with the region’s first dive charter boat, greeting and taking care of 24 guests on weeklong trips that included as many as six dives a day. By 15, he was a dive master.

David worked on luxury yachts as a young adult, including one of the largest yachts of its day, the 197-foot Feadship New Horizon L. He worked his way up the ranks from galley boy to deckhand, bosun and first mate and traveled the world before retiring from the crew industry in 1992 to come ashore and go to college.

David holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in business from Florida Atlantic University. He pursued a career in the financial industry as a licensed institutional stock trader before following his entrepreneurial heart and returning to the marine industry to start The Triton.

As publisher the past three years, David has reconnected with many former crew mates, many of whom continue to work on yachts or who run their own marine businesses. He helped the U.S. Superyacht Association form by working closely with a small group of dedicated professionals to recruit members and organize events.

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William “Billy” S. Smith III of Trinity Yachts
William S. Smith III is Vice President of Sales and Marketing and a shareholder of Trinity Yachts, LLC. He has held this position for the last eight years while the company was owned by Halter Marine, Inc.

Mr. Smith started his vessel sales and marketing career with Trinity Industries in 1988 in the commercial Sales and Marketing group. He was instrumental in the formation of the Trinity Yachts Division in 1990. Mr. Smith established Trinity Yachts as one of the elite yacht builders in the world and has generated over $100 million in sales with clientele from Saudi Arabia, Germany, Indonesia and the Bahamas as well as the United States.

Prior to joining Trinity, Mr. Smith actually started his career in the marine industry in 1976 at the family-owned companies T. Smith and Sons and Crescent Towing and Salvage. After the family sold the companies in 1980, Mr. Smith founded Modern Diesel Power with his father to introduce towboats in the U. S. market that could burn alternative fuels.

Mr. Smith graduated from Springhill College in 1975. He is a member of the New York Yacht Club, and the Pass Christian Yacht Club. Mr. Smith was a founding Board member of the Gulf Coast Conservation Association of Louisiana. Mr. Smith has extensive Sailboat Ocean racing experience competing successfully in Newport-Bermuda, Miami-Montego Bay, Sardinia Cup, and the St. Petersburg-Isla Mujeres races.

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Julia A. (Julie) Lynn of U.S. Superyacht Association
Julie’s childhood water-memories consist of the Great Lakes and great rivers of the Midwest, the Jersey Shore, the Carolina beaches, the islands of the Caribbean, the Galveston coast, the Florida Keys. Always drawn to the waters and the oceans, she remembers being captivated by the likes of Lloyd Bridges, Jacque Cousteau and Walter Cronkite.

She hails from the heartland, graduating from the University of Illinois, continuing at the University of Houston, where she studied business. Her corporate experience is especially strong at the executive, administrative level. Her hands-on managerial experience is broad based, ranging from business start-ups to sales & marketing.

Julie relocated to South Florida in 1984 and found a way to combine her strong business background with her love of the ocean. The first U.S. reservation office for the Underwater Explorers Society (UNEXSO) and The Dolphin Experience™ (Grand Bahama Island) opened in June 1986 and she became a certified scuba instructor in 1988, two life-defining events.

In 1986, she started her own company, Marketing Solutions, Inc. Since then, Julie’s marine alliances include Old Bahama Bay Resort & Yacht Club, Crab Cay (Exuma), Pier 17, SeaScooters, Triton Publishing Group, the International SeaKeepers Society and Ocean Futures. Her client list includes resorts and dive operators in The Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and South Florida. She was even a stunt diver for the television program, Rescue 911.

Julie joined the U.S. Superyacht Association in May, 2007 as the group’s indispensable Administrator.

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