Marco Santoro
Marco Santoro was born in Naples, one of the most beautiful as well as complicated city in south of Italy. He is the last son of six siblings.
The sea and the boats have been always part of his life since he was kid, “We always had small boats in our family, my father Elio loved Boston Whaler boats, my mother Margherita loved the ocean and during the summer she was used to swim every day for hours as she was a creature of the ocean.”
Marco planned to be in this industry since he was a kid “My grandfather, Giuseppe, was a naval architect and marine engineer and a RINA Register inspector. He was used to bringing me onboard big commercial ships, and he was my inspiration for my career “
Marco spent all his youth and adolescence practicing sports and with a clear dream in his mind, he became a Naval architect and marine engineer, and this dream became true in 2001. “I’m been practicing sprint race in track and field competition for many years, this was another important gift I got from my uncle Salvatore who was part of the national team at the Olympic Games in Roma in 1960. From the sport, I learned very important concepts and life values like, dedication, motivation, hard work, commitment, fairness, to be humble and the importance of the team. At the age of 17-year-old I arrived third at the Italian 100 meters national tournament with 10.97 seconds.”
Right after his bachelor’s degree he started his career in yachting. He moved to Savona, in the north of Italy, to be a part of the technical department of Rodriquez Yachts. Also if the experience was pretty short he learned a lot about design and production of mega yachts. At the same time he also realized that he needed a different type of work that would have brought me in closer contact with clients and yachts operators.
In 2003, Marco joined Ferrettigroup as an intern in the after sales and service department. “My journey in this company was amazing. I had the opportunity to cover growing roles and responsibility, working with clients and colleagues from all around the world, and in every single corner of the world.”
I’m extremely proud to have been appointed as CEO of RMK Merrill Stevens, this company has an incredible heritage being one of the most historical shipyards in USA, but also one of the most technologically advanced and modern shipyards. My main goal is to enhance our clients journey, starting from the moment the get in contact with us till the moment the client will leaves our yard. This means to be able to listen to our clients’ needs and expectations, and deliver to them the highest quality experience. If we are capable of doing so, we will retain our customers who will became also our best ambassadors.
Merrill Stevens Yachts is our brokerage house with 100 years of history, we will expand the operation of our sales division acquiring new dealerships opportunities. There are just few organizations that has the potential to assist their clients from the sales of a new, or preowned, yacht support them with their own technicians in their own facilities. With our two yards, the south and the north yard, we can assist boats from 20 feet up to 240 feet.
My free time is all for my family. I’ve four wonderful sons Andrea, Matteo, Tommy and Luca, and a beautiful wife, Melissa, which is also my mentor and I love to call her my “personal consultant”.
I love soccer and basketball and since a couple of years I’ve developed the passion for tropical aquarium, obviously I have built an amazing saltwater aquarium.
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