The Client - Super-Yacht Group.
They seek to appoint a Director of Finance. Our client is a global luxury hospitality company.
The Director, Finance – Yacht Operations:
Leads financial strategy, governance, reporting, planning, forecasting, analytics, and compliance for the Yacht business, partnering with leadership to improve performance, support growth, and ensure operational excellence.
Responsibilities:
• Serve as the senior finance business partner to Yacht Operations leadership, Yacht General Managers, Ownership, MHCH, and Corporate stakeholders.
• Participate as a member of the Yacht Leadership Team, contributing to strategic planning, operational reviews, and key business decisions.
• Develop and execute financial strategies that support business objectives and long-term value creation.
• Build trusted relationships with Ownership representatives, board members, lenders, and associated entities.
• Present financial performance, forecasts, budgets, risks, and recommendations to leadership, Ownership, and Corporate stakeholders.
• Lead performance management and business analytics activities across the Yacht business, establishing key financial and operational performance metrics and driving accountability against approved plans and forecasts.
• Serve as the executive owner of forecast accuracy across the Yacht business, ensuring accountability, consistency, and alignment between operational and financial planning assumptions.
• Partner with operational leaders to identify opportunities and develop recommendations that improve revenue, labor productivity, expense management, cash flow, profitability, margin expansion, and long-term growth.
• Drive data-based decision making through meaningful analysis, benchmarking, forecasting, and business insights.
• Lead the annual budget process, rolling forecasts, and long-range financial planning activities.
• Own the end-to-end forecasting process, ensuring alignment between Four Seasons and MHCH methodologies, reporting requirements, and planning timetables.
• Review monthly financial results and ensure reporting accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with corporate and ownership requirements.
• Ensure delivery of all required financial, covenant, and financing-related reporting, including P&L statements, cash flow reporting, forecasts, debt reporting, and Facility Agreement compliance reporting.
• Serve as the primary financial steward of Management Agreement compliance and governance, ensuring all reporting obligations, fee calculations, reserve funding requirements, cost recovery provisions, contractual commitments, and financial approval requirements are administered and fulfilled in accordance with agreement terms
• Maintain a thorough understanding of all Accounting & Finance policies, standards, management agreements, and applicable ownership governance requirements.
• Maintain a strong internal control environment and ensure compliance with GAAP, company policies, ownership requirements, and regulatory obligations.
• Provide oversight and governance of month-end and year-end close activities, driving alignment, standardisation, and continuous improvement between our client and MHCH reporting processes to enhance accuracy, transparency, consistency, and timeliness.
• Ensure accurate tracking, reconciliation, reporting, and recovery of all amounts payable to Four Seasons, including management fees, program fees, reimbursable expenses, shared services charges, and other contractual obligations.
• Lead internal and external audits and ensure timely resolution of audit findings.
• Oversee financial governance related to guest deposits, advance deposits, and related payment administration processes, ensuring controls, accessibility, and compliance with business and ownership requirements.
• Oversee treasury operations, cash flow management, liquidity planning, banking relationships, funding strategies, and working capital performance.
• Monitor payment practices and liquidity positions to ensure timely settlement of obligations and proactively identify risks to vendor relationships, operational continuity, the clients reputation, and service delivery standards.
• Oversee governance, funding, reporting, adequacy assessments, and utilization strategies associated with FF&E Reserves, Dry Dock Reserves, Cash Reserves, and other ownership-mandated reserve accounts.
• Oversee capital expenditure approvals, reporting, and compliance with reserve funding requirements.
• Support the implementation, budgeting, funding, and administration of mandatory programs and initiatives.
• Partner with Corporate stakeholders to ensure program-related funding obligations are appropriately forecasted, recorded, communicated, and recovered in accordance with applicable agreements.
• Partner with MHCH and Corporate stakeholders on fleet planning initiatives, including new vessel development, Yacht expansion projects, and long-range business planning activities.
• Support strategic investment decisions through financial evaluation, risk assessment, and operational readiness planning.•
• Provide financial modeling, scenario planning, investment analysis, and business case development to support future growth.
Required:
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Hospitality Management, or a related discipline.
• Significant finance leadership experience within luxury hospitality, travel, maritime, cruise, or service-based organizations.
• Strong experience in financial planning and analysis, forecasting, performance management, treasury, financial reporting, and business analytics.
• Experience managing ownership relationships, management agreements, financing arrangements, covenant reporting, and reserve governance.
• Proven ability to leverage financial and operational data to improve business performance and support strategic decision-making.
• Experience supporting growth initiatives, development projects, vessel openings, integrations, or other complex multi-stakeholder initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of GAAP, internal controls, compliance standards, and hospitality finance practices.
• Advanced proficiency with financial systems, business intelligence tools, and Microsoft Office applications.
• Excellent communication, presentation, stakeholder management, and influencing skills.
• A strategic and analytical leader with strong business acumen and a results-oriented mindset.
• An inspiring and collaborative leader who fosters trust, accountability, and transparency.
• A champion of continuous improvement who embraces innovation and drives operational excellence.
• Skilled at building relationships and influencing stakeholders across functions and levels of the organisation.
• An effective communicator who clearly articulates priorities, expectations, and business objectives.
• Demonstrates the highest levels of integrity, professionalism, and ethical decision-making.
• Adaptable and resilient, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver results in a fast-paced environment.
• A role model for Four Seasons values and sound business practices.
Preferred
• Professional accounting designation (CPA, CA, ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent).
Salary Package, anything reasonable, to be negotiated.
Interested? Please send your Microsoft Word CV to Scott-Slater, Vish Atari, Joey Polpero Ashley Armstrong LLM, Muchen Chang, Kato Suzuki, Abi Shasori, Troy Chrysler, Stephen Brown, Enzo Guluti, Steve Maclaren and Chris Lingard.
Package, anything reasonable for the right candidate.
E - uswwrecruitment@aol.com
We will contact you by email and arrange a preliminary discussion.
Discretion protection and secrecy are assured at all times.
We are currently invloved in seeking the above mentioned category of professional. We are speaking to candidates in the market using direct approach methodologies.