Raphael Beaudrey: Founding Member and Current Honorary Sec of APSA
APSA: When did you join APSA, and why?
Raphael Beaudrey: I joined APSA in the first year after meeting Colin Dawson in Hong Kong. We found we shared common principles and he invited me to join APSA to help with its development. It was a way for me to discover the Asia-Pacific superyacht market and to enrich my knowledge and practice of it. As such, I was voted on to the Committee at the First APSA AGM at the Monaco Yacht Show in 2012.
APSA: What led you to work in the Superyacht industry, and how has your business evolved in recent years?
Raphael Beaudrey: I graduated in International Wealth Management and Accounting and Finance at University of Nice Sophia Antipolis. Previously I worked as an independent French wealth management advisor, focusing on real estate and tax planning. I started my Asian experience in Hong Kong for a Monaco CSP. In 2010, I joined Rosemont International, mutli-family office based in Monaco, setting their presence in Asia. Rosemont’s yachting expertise applied to family office was already well known in the Principality, and Peter Brigham’s decision to expand it in Asia-Pacific with Janet Xanthopoulos heading the team from Monaco and myself being the regional manager. I jumped into the superyacht industry with the support of Janet who trained me in understanding how crucial it is to get the right structure for owning and administrating a superyacht, and what an experienced practitioner in this field could bring to the market. After that it was a matter of spreading the word and through APSA, yacht shows, conferences, and partnering with local and regional offices. The Asia-Pacific is still a small market for superyachts when compared to Mediterranean, and it comes with a lot of regulatory burden, logistical challenges, regional political issues, tax competition, local practices, and cultural differences. It is challenging field and through APSA I have improved my knowledge and experience and have now a much better understanding of the superyacht industry. I
APSA: What is the focus of your work and experience in the superyacht industry?
Raphael Beaudrey: In general, my focus is on structuring of asset ownership strategies, providing advisory and administration services to owners and their family for owning, investing, planning estate, using, and enjoying their asset of any types, real estate, art, yacht, private jet, collectible, as well as to assist professionals of these assets industries in providing solutions to their clients. My work experiences has been very diversified and cover a large spectrum of cases from : yacht brokers seeking assistance in structuring a deal for its clients and using our escrow services; for an art broker asking for help to put a masterpiece on a superyacht and crossing borders without hassle; full administrative support for Captains who are running the owner’s fleet; owner looking for a complete assistance in planning their next acquisition of superyacht; administrating the entities used to manage a yacht. All of this requires good understanding of the regulatory and practical aspect of each problematic situations, whilst having a holistic view and paying attention to detail, all at the same time.
APSA: What area of the superyacht industry has been your speciality?
Raphael Beaudrey: If I must reduce it to a specific specialty for understanding what we do, I would say that it is ownership and administration service, and this includes several domains of the industry: how insurance systems works to fit our client’s use of their yachts. What are bank’s criteria for financing and how that would serve our client’s demand. What is the best jurisdiction for a flag with a hybrid private and commercial use of a yacht, and does this authority fits the owner’s tax status? Would a specific flag be needed for the yacht and passengers to enter and stay on a country’s water – tax, legal, compliance, risk assessment and coverage, finance, etc. Local practical knowledge and specialist skills need to be combined and practiced like a generalist.
APSA: Where are you based now, and what do you enjoy about Hong Kong?
Raphael Beaudrey: I live in Hong Kong for 15 years and still enjoy Hong Kong energetic, dynamic, and multicultural, very business-driven and a city of vibes. I am more of a local expat, having lived here for 15 years and my wife is Hongkongese. I still have a lot to discover here and in Asia-Pacific, HK is a nice hub for that.
APSA: What interests do you have outside of the yachting industry?
Raphael Beaudrey: We enjoy our leisure time together with hikes, swims, yoga, and healthy food, along with local cultural events, history, and heritage, travels in Asia, especially Thailand’s countryside (I miss that a lot since the covid situation but not more than going back to France and visit my relatives there), spending time with family and friends, and trying to keep a healthy life balance between work and pleasure.
APSA: What is your Business/Management style?
Raphael Beaudrey: I like to know well the person I work with, their opinion on a matter and their way of approaching an issue, which helps me to propose a solution that is adapted to the need as well as to the capacity of my employee or business partners to solve it and gain improvement. I like to do it on a more relax atmosphere, a balance between seriousness and discipline and liberty and trust in other’s capacity. I tend to prefer transparency and explain in details a topic from the basis and its principle, this for my counterpart to get a higher understanding and whole acceptance of the solution I offer.
APSA: What is your vision for APSA?
Raphael Beaudrey: APSA started well from the dedication and valuable work done by the former Chairman and Committee members. Today APSA needs to attract more members and trusted partners, who can find support and a new way of growing their network and business in a very competitive market. APSA’s next step should be to become the strong voice in the Superyacht Industry for all the players of the Asia-Pacific region, and a force for lobbying their interests. This would mean for APSA that it needs to find a balance between keeping its independence and staying financially sustainable, serving the industry interests and the local economies, while being able to advise decision-makers and being accepted by the general public for serving their interest too.