Carla Demaria is the new president of a UCINA in turmoil

No surprises: after Lamberto Tacoli (and ten major companies) left UCINA, Carla Demaria is the new president of Confindustria Nautica. The election of Demaria (who is president of Monte Carlo Yachts, Benetau Italy, and general manager of the Beneteau brand) came at a turbulent time for Confinudstria Nautica, with many large brands objecting to his candidacy on the grounds that he was linked to a foreign brand. In an interview with Repubblica, Demaria responded as follows: “I lead a company under Italian law among the top five in Italy in terms of turnover. Ours is a success story that began with the first boat in 2010. Do you belong to a French group? I have three hundred employees in Italy, there is no French, there are three hundred less unemployed Italians. So what should we say about Ferretti? I remind Dr. Vitelli that in 2012, he declared the mourning of Made in Italy when the Chinese took over Ferretti. And I found his words excessive even then.”

THE UCINA STATEMENT
The Elective Assembly of Ucina Confindustria Nautica was held today in Santa Margherita Ligure, during which by a large majority Carla Demaria, who was already a member of the Board of Directors as president and partner of Monfalcone-based Monte Carlo Yachts, was elected new president. Out of a total of 1128 available votes, 884 were represented in the Assembly, or about 80 percent, a percentage that confirms a broad elected base. There were 879 in favor.

Significant is the title of her program presented to the Members, “Ethics, Solidarity, Renewal,” which anticipates an extensive revision of the Bylaws and the intensity of work programs in the coming months.Carla Demaria’s is a strong voice that comes at an important time in the life of the association.

“After the exit of some companies,” said the new president, “we are downsized but strengthened in our defense of the democratic values that should inspire an associational organization and representation of business interests. I do not believe in the opposition between large and small, and I am convinced that differences can be turned into confrontation. The changes I have proposed to the Bylaws will broaden the decision-making participation of Members by shortening the chain of governance. In addition, each of the seven sectors we have identified will have its own distinct representativeness.”

In the new president’s intentions, Ucina’s statutory mission to represent, defend and promote the entire Italian boating industry, both in Italy and abroad, remains fundamental.

Ucina’s institutional activities will be able to rely on an advisory board that will be decision-supporting and made up of academic representatives from the business professions.

The program also includes the launch of new projects with a broad international scope that will benefit from greater integration with the European boating industry confederation EBI (European Boating Industry) and a broadening of the membership base as a result of new services made available that will increase the benefit of the membership relationship.

Carla Demaria confirmed the central role of the Genoa Boat Show, the organization of which continues apace: ” which remains the best showcase for our nautical industry, in terms of tradition and public knowledge. In terms of layout, you can display boats and create events for the public in a way that is impossible for other boat shows in the world to do. For our Association, doing it right also means representing and protecting the category.”

WHO IS CARLA DEMARIA
Carla Demaria was born in Turin, trained in Italy and is one of the world’s leading nautical managers. Today he is president of Monte Carlo Yachts, a company with a turnover of more than 50 million euros and more than 300 direct employees in Italy, is president of Benetau Italia and general manager of the Beneteau brand. He worked for twenty years in the Azimut Benetti Group, holding positions of increasing responsibility: sales manager in 1988, sales and marketing director in 1990, member of the Steering Committee since 1996, and director of Azimut Capital in 2000. In 2002 she became president and CEO of Atlantis Spa (formerly Gobbi). In 2008 he left Azimut Benetti Group to found with Beneteau Group the new entity Montecarlo Yachts, intended to build high-end yachts in Italy and with Italian design. She first joined the Ucina Board of Directors in 2006 and was vice president in 2008. She returned to the board of directors in 2014.