Team size: seven 

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?  

I am aligned with the company business strategy thanks to periodical leadership meetings I take part to with the top management of each company division and with the direct involvement of our legal department into strategic matters for the provision of the relevant risk analysis. 

My legal team’s main purpose is to tailor legal matters onto business strategy and product related issues; this is what mainly differs external from internal lawyers. Thanks to a very sensitive company top management we are involved in the drafting/orienting of the crisis management strategy with a focus on legal matters. We can therefore provide the legal point of view and indicate better management of any problem from the legal side and modulate legal opinion based on the real needs of the company. 

What are the main cases or transactions that you have been involved in recently?  

The creation of the company online platform for chartering Azimut yachts with the drafting pf all contracts and legal disclaimers of the platform; the implementing and drafting of the new company trade control compliance policy, with the management of the relevant day by day activity and training of sales team; the drafting and negotiation of an eighty meters yacht construction contract; the due diligence connected to the shareholders agreement proving in the sale of 32% of Azimut Benetti shares to the Saudi found P.I.F. 

How do you measure the impact of ESG initiatives on the company’s overall performance and reputation?  

The impact of ESG initiatives is strong on both the overall performance and reputation of the company. As for the first, the new yacht models, in particular the SeaDeck collection, have lower consumption levels and are built according to a circularity of materials approach. Then, thanks to an agreement with the company ENI, Eni’s Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) material, 100% diesel from renewable raw materials, is being used for all the sea trials of compatible yachts. When the infrastructure of marinas will be upgraded, the use of the said biodiesel will be increased, leading to a significant improvement in the performance of compatible vessels. Moreover, the implementation of renewable energy for selected shipyards allows for a great reduction in energy consumption. Finally, the EU regulation on deforestation imposes a reinterpretation of the supply chain that has much wider impacts than just EU operators, leading to companies like ours setting high EU standards on our non-EU suppliers. As far as reputation is concerned, full support for the Sea Index initiative, a non-profit entity based in Monte Carlo devoted to the promotion of a certified standard for yacht consumption, keeps Azimut Benetti’s reputation high as a company that is very sensitive to ESG initiatives. Lastly, manufacturing increasingly light-weight models with recycled materials helps to achieve a reputation as a sustainable brand, which is essential to win the trust of younger, more ESG-conscious customers. 

What do you see as the major legal challenges for businesses in Italy over the next five years, and how are you preparing to address them?   

Big legal challenges will be represented by the legal management of AI in all fields from manufacturing to marketing to the drafting and management of legal contracts with a strong challenge on IP issues. 

We manufacture and sell luxury products, and I see big challenges in the continuous strengthening of sanctions and compliance rules. This is with particular reference to the new EU rules coming into force in the next two years proving the obligation to register each yacht’s beneficial owner into registers accessible to national authorities. This will surely lead to the worsening of the attempts of our customers to hide real ultimate beneficial owners with a worsening of the difficulties in performing our compliance duties.  

In our fields I see big challenges also in the management of our supply  chains with particular reference to GRP contractors (working independently at their sites, having a long lasting tradition of artisanal imprinting with difficulty from our side to control satefy and security matters) and suppliers of goods subject to export controls and strong importation duties ( such as electronics, teak) where the final customer (Azimut Benetti) is getting more and more involved by the law into control duties. 

Another challenge is represented by keeping our 231-model updated and respected by the company considering the high quantity of crimes included recently in the decree.