Alastair Callender

Alastair Callender is an award-winning superyacht designer, charter and sales broker, and multi‑disciplinary superyacht expert, with over 21 years’ experience across the global superyacht industry. He is the founder of Callender Designs, established in 2008, and launched the Americas region for Moravia Yachting in 2020 — the historic Monaco-based brokerage house and sister company to Hill Robinson, a world leader in yacht management. Raised on the waters of Chichester Harbour, England, Alastair's path into the superyacht world was set at 15 when a careers talk by renowned designer Andrew Winch — who became a lifelong mentor — ignited a passion that would define his career. He went on to be a designer at Princess Yachts while studying a degree in yacht design at Coventry University. Alastair founded Callender Designs in 2008, and in 2009 presented Soliloquy — a 190ft (58m) super-green superyacht concept — alongside Lürssen Yachts at the Monaco Yacht Show, to international critical acclaim. The design earned him the International Superyacht Society’s ‘Excellence in Innovation’ Award of Distinction (2010), recognizing Soliloquy as a landmark in sustainable superyacht design. That same year he received the Condé Nast Traveller Innovation & Design Award for Sustainable Design, placing him alongside Virgin Galactic, Paul Smith, Zaha Hadid, and Foster & Partners. He was also named a World Superyacht Awards Finalist for Young Designer of the Year (2010), was recognized as an Individual of Extraordinary Ability by the United States of America, and remains the only charter and sales broker in the world to hold international awards in sustainability, innovation, and yacht design. Alastair has held senior roles as Creative Director Americas for Sanlorenzo Yachts, and as a yacht broker at Burgess Yachts. He has been a member of IYBA and MYBA for many years and was awarded Board Member of the Year by Young Professionals in Yachting in 2014. Today, through Moravia Yachting, he leads retail charter and sales brokerage across the Americas. A committed philanthropist, Alastair serves as Exclusive Yachting Partner to the Queen Elizabeth II Commonwealth Trust and Advisor to the United Nations Foundation, leveraging superyacht relationships to advance global humanitarian causes. He was nominated as a finalist for two international philanthropic awards. Alastair speaks at conferences globally on the topics of yachting, AI, sustainability, ocean conservation, and philanthropy. He has been featured by The New York Times, Financial Times, CNN, The Sunday Times, and all major yachting media, and is internationally recognized under his personal brand, The Yacht Tailor (@the_yacht_tailor). As an ISS judge, Alastair brings a uniquely integrated perspective — spanning over 21 years in yachting from yacht design, client representation, global yacht charter and sales brokerage, and philanthropic leadership — shaped by working at the highest levels of the superyacht world. Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastaircallender/

Q&A

What does it mean to you to be an ISS judge?
It is a genuine honor — and one I hold with great responsibility. The International Superyacht Society has long represented the conscience of the global superyacht community, championing excellence at the intersection of design, leadership, and innovation.  To be asked to review projects submitted by the world’s finest designers, builders, and visionaries is not something I take lightly. I have spent my 21-year career at the crossroads of yacht design, sustainability in yachting, and yacht brokerage — and that breadth of perspective is what I bring to this role. Great design changes how people feel. Great leadership changes what is possible. This award celebrates both, and I am proud to help steward that standard.

What do you like about the ISS Design & Awards Gala?
It is one of the very few moments in the superyacht calendar when the entire community of industry leaders comes together to support one another. To be recognized as a recipient of these awards by one’s peers is both rare and meaningful — and there is a generosity of spirit at the Gala that I find genuinely rewarding. Designers, builders, brokers, managers, and owners acknowledging one another’s brilliance and creativity: that matters. I also appreciate that the ISS has always recognized innovation and sustainability alongside traditional craft. My own ISS Award of Distinction for Excellence in Innovation in 2010 was a pivotal moment in my career, and I know firsthand the significance these recognitions carry for their recipients. The Gala perpetuates that legacy beautifully.

How did you get your start in the yachting industry?
I grew up sailing in Chichester Harbour on the south coast of England, so the sea was always home. But my professional direction crystallized at 15, when I had the good fortune to attend a careers talk by the world-renowned designer Andrew Winch. His ability to translate the aspirations of extraordinary clients into floating sculptures — works of art — was revelatory. Andrew became a lifelong mentor, and from that moment I knew I wanted to dedicate my career to the superyacht world.

I went on to study yacht design at Coventry University, founded Callender Designs in 2008, and presented Soliloquy — a 190ft (58m) super-green superyacht concept — alongside Lürssen at the Monaco Yacht Show in 2009. The recognition that followed — an ISS Design Award and a Condé Nast Traveller Innovation & Design Award for Sustainable Design in 2010, alongside luminaries including Virgin Galactic, Paul Smith, Zaha Hadid, and Foster & Partners — was beyond anything I had anticipated. From design, I moved into marketing and brokerage: first as Creative Director Americas at Sanlorenzo Yachts, then at Burgess Yachts across sales and charter. In 2020, I launched the Americas region for Moravia Yachting, part of the Hill Robinson Group, where I lead retail charter and sales brokerage in the Americas region today.

What is your biggest challenge?
The superyacht industry is extraordinarily good at creating desire. But the next generation of clients, owners, and industry talent are asking harder questions — about environmental impact, supply chain ethics, and the broader responsibilities that come with extraordinary access. My biggest challenge, and the one I consider a privilege to engage with, is ensuring that the work we do in this industry is worthy of the influence it affords us.

Through my partnerships with the Queen Elizabeth II Commonwealth Trust and the United Nations Foundation, I have tried to demonstrate that superyacht relationships can be a genuine force for global good. But there is much further to go. I have been advocating for Eco-Luxury — the idea that sustainability and superyacht excellence are not an oxymoron — for over 15 years. Bringing that conversation to owners and charterers at the highest level remains one of the most important things I do.

If you could choose one location for your next travel adventure, where would you go and why?
The Galápagos — without hesitation. The unique flora, fauna, and extraordinary marine and bird life represent a natural world I want to experience in person. I am also drawn to places where the environment is at genuine risk, because I believe that witnessing something beautiful and fragile firsthand changes how you advocate for it. And of course, the finest way to explore the Galápagos — covering both the western and eastern routes at one’s own pace — would be aboard a tailor-made private yacht charter.

Where do you find inspiration?
My greatest design and business breakthroughs have come from looking outside the yacht industry. Architecture, philanthropy, conversations with mentors across disciplines — these are where I find the ideas that move things forward. Sir Peter Blake was a mentor when I was young, and he embodied that cross-disciplinary curiosity perfectly: one of the most decorated professional yachtsmen of his generation, who went on to dedicate his life to ocean conservation. I try to live by that model. Inspiration is rarely found by looking directly at the thing you are trying to improve. You find it obliquely — in a Lord Norman Foster curve, in the work of a philanthropist, in a conversation with someone doing extraordinary work in a field entirely removed from your own.

What do you see as upcoming trends in the industry?
Three themes I am watching closely:

Intentional sustainability — not greenwashing, but genuine innovation in hull efficiency, propulsion, and use and selection of materials. The owners who will define the next decade are those who want their yacht to be an expression of their values, not a contradiction of them.

Experiential hyper-personalization — the era of the generic charter experience is over. Ultra-high-net-worth clients now expect bespoke itineraries, access to private cultural moments, and increasingly, philanthropic integration within their voyages.

Design-led new build briefs — clients are arriving with greater design literacy than ever before, shaped by architecture, product design, and hospitality. The days of simply handing a brief to a naval architect are giving way to deeply collaborative, design-led processes — with sustainability on the table from the very first conversation. That excites me enormously.