Cookson Adventures appoints new Head of Yachts
Cookson Adventures announces the appointment of Kevin O’Conor as Head of Yachts
25th July, London: Ultra-luxury travel company Cookson Adventures today announces the appointment of Kevin O’Conor as Head of Yachts, with immediate effect.
With over 20 years’ experience in the yachting industry, O’Conor has served as Captain on both sail and motor yachts up to 90metre’s, logged over 200,000 nautical miles on two world circumnavigations, overseen custom superyacht builds as an Owner’s Representative and managed a multi-asset UHNW estate and fleet of yachts.
Based in Palm Beach, Florida, Kevin joins Cookson Adventures to help cement the company’s position at the forefront of expedition yachting. He will work with an experienced team of project managers to deliver pioneering superyacht and submersible expeditions globally and create new and exciting yachting concepts for charterers and private yacht owners. He’ll be responsible for building relationships with yacht owners, captains and owner representatives, charter and sales brokers, as well as the wider yachting ecosystem.
This hire is one of six recent new appointments within Cookson Adventures’ growing team and follows the company’s impressive growth figures, which showed a 22% increase in sales on the previous financial year.
Born in Geneva, Switzerland, and raised in New England, Kevin began his 15-year career at sea, as deck crew on a sail training, tall ships and later served as Captain of various private and charter superyachts with exciting and off the beaten path worldwide cruising itineraries. With a specialism in sailboats, he has taken the helm of vessels up to 90m – everywhere from Asia, Australasia the Med to the South Pacific, North America and Caribbean. He went on to found and operate Berth One Palm Beach, a private luxury deep water marina and shipyard, which continues to host and service the world’s largest superyachts up to 162m. This led to Kevin opening a US office for top Italian custom superyacht shipbuilder, Rossinavi, overseeing US Sales and working closely with clients through the entire custom design and build process for yachts up to 72m.
Outside of the world of yachting, Kevin has managed UHNW estates that encompass several properties and assets, including multiple planes, yachts and helicopters, as well as a world-renowned art collection and a Grand Prix horse jumping programme.
“Cookson Adventures has an impressive reputation within the industry for its creativity and originality. No other travel company designs yachting expeditions with such complexity, often pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in private travel. Clients come to Cookson Adventures expecting transformational journeys that bring elegance, innovation, and an unprecedented level of personalisation. I look forward to working with this multi-talented team to ensure that these expectations are not only met but exceeded”. Kevin O’Conor, Head of Yachts
“Kevin joins us at an exciting time at Cookson Adventures as we celebrate 15 years at the forefront of luxury experiential travel. It’s the perfect time to bring someone of Kevin’s pedigree and versatility on board, as it follows increasing growth in the US market. Kevin’s impressive knowledge and experience in the luxury yacht sector will help us with our plans to drive our expansion plans both in the US market and internationally”. Nick Davies, Managing Director
Kevin will be able to bring his passion for adventure to the role. He’s competed in sailing regattas around the world, from the King’s Cup in Thailand to the Antigua Classic and Newport Bucket. With a divemaster certification, he’s logged hundreds of scuba adventures. Living in Jupiter, Florida, he’s often found on the water, kite surfing, wing foiling, spearfishing and freediving. Back on land, his love of off-piste skiing has seen him compete in the Freeride World Tour and heli-ski some of the world’s steepest descents in Alaska.
Cookson Adventures was founded in 2009 by avid adventurer and world record holder Henry Cookson. The company has built a reputation for creating ‘world first’ travel experiences for a global clientele looking to explore untapped, remote corners of the world, whilst enjoying the highest level of elegance.
Over the past fifteen years, Cookson Adventures has grown rapidly, creating unique travel and conservation experiences for its clients, including access to isolated, bio-diverse ecosystems and usually unreachable regions and climates. The company facilitated the first private manned submersible dive in Antarctica and discovered a new sub-species of orca off Cape Horn. Cookson Adventures has been able to organise an array of incredible expeditions by utilising its vast network of experts including scientists, marine biologists, conservationists, and award-winning photographers. As the company continues to grow and expand, this new hire aims to continue to realise the vision of its founder.