Moravia Yachting prides itself on upholding its core values of confidentiality and discretion. Adam Papadakis, Head of Sales, explains how these values are instilled within Moravia’s growing team.
Having been a staple in Monaco’s glittering Port Hercule since the early 1960s, Moravia Yachting was acquired by the Hill Robinson Group in 2017 and officially relaunched in 2020. Specialising in providing yacht brokerage and charter services, Moravia Yachting offers its clients the care and attention of a boutique brokerage house with all the expertise, stability and strength of a global group.
The most important aspect of the rebranding process was ensuring that Moravia Yachting completely aligns with the philosophy of Hill Robinson. In other words, super-serving clients, maintaining an acute focus on client needs and providing a niche approach that differs from the larger brokerage houses. When it comes to brokerage services, two of the key values required to achieve this goal are confidentiality and discretion.
“In our business, there is a lot at stake and there are significant amounts of money involved,” explains Adam Papadakis, Head of Sales at Moravia Yachting. “Without confidentiality, you risk losing a client, losing credibility, or even facing legal implications. That’s why confidentiality is part of Moravia’s code of professional conduct for all its employees, especially the brokers who have direct contact with the clients. Clients want to feel comfortable with their broker and be confident that we’re looking after their best interests – this is what ultimately creates long-term relationships.”
“Without confidentiality, you risk losing a client, losing credibility, or even facing legal implications. That’s why confidentiality is part of Moravia’s code of professional conduct for all its employees, especially the brokers who have direct contact with the clients. Clients want to feel comfortable with their broker and be confident that we’re looking after their best interests – this is what ultimately creates long-term relationships.”
For Adam, there are two areas to which confidentiality applies in practice. The first is straightforward: it’s the commercial aspects, including prices, transaction details and the client’s personal information. All brokers, yacht managers, lawyers and even yacht crew come across and handle a significant amount of such commercial and legal information daily and adhering to strict confidentiality standards is a must.
The second area is less quantifiable and has to do with the general code of ethics, behaviour, and personal terms surrounding the relationship with the client. As Adam explains, “We spend a major part of our time with our clients at their houses, cruising on board their yachts, meeting their friends and family; our job from first making contact is to nurture the relationship within an environment of trust, professionalism and controlled intimacy, avoiding pitfalls that will undermine any of the above fundamental principles. Although we work as a close-knit team, we all know what can be disclosed internally and what cannot.”
Since its relaunch, Moravia has built a team of highly qualified brokerage professionals that continues to grow. As such, a continuous and holistic approach is used to instil the values of confidentiality and discretion within the team. “At the time of recruitment, we clearly convey these values to the broker and continue to do so through ongoing training,” says Adam. “It might sound counterintuitive, but we ensure confidentiality and discretion by communicating internally and enhancing transparency and teamwork within the company.”
“It might sound counterintuitive, but we ensure confidentiality and discretion by communicating internally and enhancing transparency and teamwork within the company.”
As an example of how this works in practice, Moravia brokers are encouraged to share case studies of circumstances they are facing, or that have occurred in the past. “This means that even those with less experience in the team are being exposed to different scenarios and are learning about the appropriate actions to take,” adds Adam. “It’s prevention rather than cure.”
In a business where success relies on contacts – and maintaining a trusting relationship with them – confidentiality is paramount. “Having a long-term approach towards its relationships with clients is what has kept Hill Robinson growing, and Moravia Yachting mirrors this ethos,” concludes Adam. “Our number one priority is to sustain and develop our relationships with our clients – that’s why we have the respect of our clients and they keep coming back to us.”
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