One of the yachting industry’s titans has passed away. Paolo Vitelli, former chairman of Azimut-Benetti, died December 31 in a domestic accident. He was 77.
Tributes have poured in from yachting publications and competitors all over the world, many noting that Vitelli created brands that are as important to global yachting as Gucci and Prada are to fashion, or Ferrari and Lamborghini are to the sports-car world.
“Social media lit up at the news of his death, and the tributes included personal memories of Mr. Vitelli, but many others were from people who were only familiar with how he’d changed yachting,” says Michael Verdon, marine/aviation editor at Robb Report. “It’s hard to talk about one person’s impact on an industry without it sounding like hype, but after 50 years Vitelli was still able to change with the times, always ready with the next innovation.”
Born and raised in Torino, Italy, to a family of industrialists, Vitelli began his entrepreneurial career in his early 20s by moving to London to learn English and the nightclub business. He returned to Italy, started his own club, which was not a success, then used the proceeds from that business to sail around the coast of Italy. The trip would be an important precursor to his career.
Vitelli’s official start in yachting came in 1969 when, studying economics in college, he launched Azimut Srl. The business first chartered sailboats and soon represented northern European yacht brands in Italy. In 1975, he launched the company’s first boat, a flybridge express called the 43 Bali. Two years later, the AZ 32 made its debut, aimed at a broader audience of new boaters. With its sunroof and raised wheelhouse, it cemented Azimut’s name as an up-and-coming brand. In 1982, Azimut’s Failaka 105 became the largest fiberglass boat ever built at that point. It attracted billionaire owners ranging from Aristotle Onassis to David Rockefeller, along with Middle Eastern royalty.
Over the next five decades, Vitelli would build a yachting empire that became the Azimut-Benetti Group. Benetti was an historic shipyard that built what is considered the world’s first modern superyacht, Nabila, for the Aga Khan. But the yard went bankrupt because of the vessel’s cost overruns. Vitelli acquired the assets and modernized the yard. Both Azimut and Benetti became leading brands in their respective sectors. For the last 25 years, Azimut-Benetti has been the top global builder of superyachts over 79 feet by total length (if all hulls under build were placed together), according to Boat International’s annual Global Order Book.
Vitelli’s passion for design meant that he was hands-on with new concepts and had extensive input and final say on every new model. Like any entrepreneur, he hired talented managers as the company grew. Benetti became the industry’s superyacht juggernaut in yacht output, having launched 485 superyachts since 1985. In 2019, it launched a series of 100 meters-plus vessels (328 feet) within weeks of each other to show it could compete with the Dutch yards and Germany’s Lurssen, which builds the world’s largest superyachts.
But Azimut remained Vitelli’s first love. Located in the mountains in Avigliano, outside of Torino, the headquarters expanded its production footprint, creating ever-larger models that often led the industry with new designs.
Vitelli was a restless maestro, overseeing multiple projects that pushed the boundaries of yachting. This ranged from partnerships with Pininfarina, which designed cars for Ferrari, to the Atlantic Challenger, a powerboat that made a 1988 Atlantic crossing without refueling. But there were also hundreds of new Azimut models across the years, ranging from the world’s first carbon-fiber express cruiser to the mini-explorer Magellano series, to its recent series of hybrid-powered yachts, to the Azimut Grande superyacht line. Azimut builds 25 models from 48’ to 140’ across seven different families in Avigliano and four other facilities across Italy.
The brand had a solid following in Italy and the Middle East, but the Azimut name took off in North America in 2006 when MarineMax, the largest U.S. dealer, replaced the faltering Sea Ray Yachts line with the Italian brand. The timing was fortunate because it matched growing demand for Euro-styled designs, pushing Azimut to the top slot among yacht brands over 50 feet in the U.S.
Beyond boats, Vitelli also was involved in politics, being elected to the Italian Parliament in 2012, when Italy’s economy was in shambles following the last recession. “Our country is weak and needs help,” he told me during a visit to Azimut headquarters. Despite Italy’s macroeconomic troubles, the company has continued to grow, largely by expansion into new countries or through the occasional acquisition. At one point, Vitelli was in talks to purchase the marine assets of Brunswick Corp., the world’s largest boat and engine builder.
“He [Vitelli] believed in pushing boundaries, setting new standards and creating opportunities,” wrote Marco Valle, who started as an apprentice 28 years ago and is now Azimut-Benetti CEO, on social media. “He was fueled by an enduring passion for exploring new frontiers.” Valle recalled a whirlwind, round-the-world tour with Vitelli in which the pair sought out potential acquisitions to fuel Azimut-Benetti’s growth.
Vitelli’s impact also extended beyond his company. Massimo Perotti, now chairman of Sanlorenzo, worked under Vitelli for 20 years before acquiring Sanlorenzo and turning it into a primary competitor. “For over twenty years, he [Vitelli] was also a mentor who left an indelible mark on my professional path. Though our roads later diverged, my respect and admiration for him remained steadfast,” wrote Perotti on social media after Vitelli’s death.
The Azimut-Benetti chair continued to work into his 70s, telling the Daily Nautica that he fit into the mold of an enterprising businessman. “As happens to all real entrepreneurs, after having reached an objective, I thought of the next one, and the next. Now, close to retirement age, I love to still dream big.”
Before he retired in 2023, Vitelli finally designed the boat he planned to use himself, the B.YOND 37 Meter, for cruising and extended living aboard. True to character, he relinquished the first production slot when a customer wanted to buy it. The next 10 production slots were instantly filled. Vitelli spent the last two years renovating an abandoned mountain township he had purchased north of Torino, bringing life back to the village.
The company, now being led by his daughter, Giovanna Vitelli as chair, continues to grow, with projected revenues of $1.56 billion this year, a full slate of new model launches for both Azimut Benetti, and an order book that is full until 2029.
