The yacht arm of the Palumbo ship-repair group: ISA in Ancona, Columbus in Savona and seven refit yards, with an order book near EUR 1 bn.
1967 group · 2008 yachts
Founded
Palumbo family
Owner
EUR 158 m · 2025
Production value
about EUR 1 bn · 25 yachts
Order book
9th, up from 14th
Rank
22 to 100 m
Range
What happened, 2023 to 2026
Mar 2025DealSecond 65 m ISA Classic sold, delivery 2028
Dec 2025MoneyRises from 14th to 9th in the Global Order Book
Jan 2026Deal68 m Gran Turismo sold to a US buyer
May 2026BuildOrtona concession approved; third newbuild yard opens 2027
Sep 2026Build79.8 m Belita launched, the group's largest yacht
Sep 2026BuildRefit division renamed Palumbo Upfit across seven yards
What it adds up to. The fastest-rising Italian order book, run by the family as sole director with two general managers under it.
Who runs it
General Manager, ISA Yachts and Palumbo Superyachtssince 2017
Direttore generale, Palumbo Superyachtssince 2025
Vice General Manager; technical production manager, ISAsince 2023
Operations Managersince 2024
Head of refit, after sales and commissioningsince 2022
Purchasing manager, Ancona and Savonasince 2005
Organisation. Family group; sole director, brand general managers
What it shows for a new yard. A family group with brand general managers: the model where a GM runs a yard but not the money.
Former leaders now elsewhere5 people who held a top or senior seat here
now Shipyard Director at Cantiere Rossini
now General Manager at OTAM YACHTS
now Technical Director at The Italian Sea Group S.p.A
now Engineering Director at Ferretti Group
now Marketing Director at Palumbo SuperYachts
The top team as read on LinkedIn36 people read as staff, October 2026
Two general managers (one from TISG sales, in the seat since 2017; one from TISG general management, appointed Nov 2025) over a Vice General Manager who is also the technical production manager, a Marketing Director across brands (Palumbo, Columbus, Extra, Mondomarine), heads of refit and after sales, operations, new constructions and purchasing, a Malta yard manager, and a project-manager bench with three former general managers of smaller yards in it.
Palumbo Superyachts is the yacht arm of a Naples ship-repair group and has staffed its top from The Italian Sea Group twice: the sales-rooted general manager in 2017 and the engineering-rooted general manager in 2025. The family holds marketing. The project bench is unusually senior (former general managers of Falcon, Cartubi and Canados production), which suggests the group buys experience for refit and newbuild projects rather than building a functional hierarchy. Columbus Yachts has no staff of its own on LinkedIn beyond a naval architect and the shared marketing team.
Seats and dates are as the people describe them on LinkedIn; a person who moved in the last months can still show the old seat. Tap a person for the profile and the reading.
Candidates at Palumbo Superyachts · ISA5 in the pools; the shortlisted first, then by tier and score
Francesco Carbone
General Manager at Isa Yachts - Palumbo Superyachts · Ancona, Italy
* Commercial leadership30%Vice President of Sales @ The Italian Sea Group; Sales & Marketing Director (2012-2015)
* Yacht network20%President at The Italian Sea Group Americas
* Technical and pricing20%Nine years as general manager of a steel and aluminium yard: pricing and delivery sat with him
* Business building20%General Manager @ ISA YACHTS - PALUMBO SUPERYACHTS (Feb 2017 – Present)
Leadership maturity10%Head of Strategic Business Unit @ Natuzzi (2009-2012)
Reading. General manager since Feb 2017. Before: President of TISG Americas and Vice President of Sales, then Sales & Marketing Director of The Italian Sea Group (2012-2017); strategic business unit head and product manager at Natuzzi (furniture); MBA. A sales-and-marketing executive who became a yard general manager and has held the seat nine years, beside a second general manager appointed in Nov 2025.
Career
General Manager · Isa Yachts - Palumbo Superyachts Feb 2017 – Present
General Manager · Palumbo SuperYachts Feb 2017 – Present
President at The Italian Sea Group Americas, Inc. · The Italian Sea Group Sep 2015 – Jan 2017
Vice President of Sales · The Italian Sea Group Oct 2012 – Sep 2015
Sales & Marketing Director · The Italian Sea Group Feb 2009 – Oct 2012
Head of Strategic Business Unit · Natuzzi Sep 2006 – Jan 2009
Product Manager · Natuzzi Jun 2003 – Aug 2006
Assistant to Executive Director & Junior Product Manager · Natuzzi Jun 2002 – May 2003
and 2 earlier roles
Education
MBA - Master in Business Administration Business School of Economics - CIS; Master's Degree in Law University of Bari (BA) · Italy
* Technical and pricing20%University of Genoa Naval Architect · Ingegneria navale; Technical Superintendent, Site NewBuilding Manager
* Business building20%Direttore generale @ The Italian Sea Group S.p.A (Jan 2013 – Oct 2023)
Leadership maturity10%Ten years as general manager of a listed group through its IPO years
Reading. General manager of Palumbo Superyachts since Nov 2025 (and newbuild director at the sister yard San Giorgio del Porto since 2023) after ten years as general manager of The Italian Sea Group (2013-2023). Naval architect (Genoa, Turin) who was a commercial technical manager and R&D director before the first GM seat. Two yard general-manager seats in a row; technical root, commercial exposure as technical manager, no pure sales seat.
Career
Direttore generale · Palumbo SuperYachts Nov 2025 – Present
Direttore Nuove Costruzioni · San Giorgio del Porto S.p.A. Aug 2023 – Present
Direttore generale · The Italian Sea Group S.p.A Jan 2013 – Oct 2023
* Commercial leadership30%No evidence in the profile.
* Yacht network20%No evidence in the profile.
* Technical and pricing20%Direttore di Linea @ The Italian Sea Group; Production Manager @ Cantieri di Pisa
* Business building20%General Manager @ Falcon Yachts (2007-2008)
Leadership maturity10%Purchasing, estimating, production and line direction since 2001
Reading. General manager of Falcon Yachts 2007, Cantieri di Pisa production manager, TISG line director, Azimut-Benetti estimator; Naval Academy. A former small-yard GM now managing projects.
Career
Project Manager · Palumbo SuperYachts Feb 2017 – Present
Direttore di Linea · The Italian Sea Group S.p.A Sep 2013 – Jan 2017
Exterior Outifitting Leader · Fincantieri Oct 2008 – Aug 2013
Production Manager · Cantieri di Pisa Jul 2007 – Sep 2008
General Manager · Falcon Yachts Sep 2005 – Jul 2007
* Commercial leadership30%No evidence in the profile.
* Yacht network20%No evidence in the profile.
* Technical and pricing20%Technical Production Manager @ ISA YACHTS (Jan 2021 – Present); Naval Architect & Marine Engineer
* Business building20%Vice General Manager @ Palumbo SuperYachts (Dec 2023 – Present)
Leadership maturity10%No evidence in the profile.
Reading. Vice general manager since Dec 2023 while keeping the technical production manager seat held since 2021; senior engineering project manager, naval architect at ISA and Arcadia. The technical number two.
Career
Vice General Manager · Palumbo SuperYachts Dec 2023 – Present
Technical Production Manager · ISA YACHTS Jan 2021 – Present
Senior Engineering Project Manager · ISA YACHTS Aug 2019 – Jan 2021
Naval Architect & Marine Engineer · ISA YACHTS Feb 2017 – Jan 2018
Naval Architect & Marine engineer · Arcadia Yachts Mar 2015 – Feb 2017
Trainee · Arcadia Yachts Jan 2014 – Dec 2014
Stage · Arcadia Yachts May 2013 – Oct 2013
Education
Università degli Studi di Napoli 'Federico II' Master's degree · Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering; Università degli Studi di Napoli 'Federico II' Bachelor's degree · Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering; Liceo Scientifico G. Mercalli Diploma
MIB School of Management Master of Business Administration (MBA) · Business Administration and Management, General; Università degli Studi di Udine Engineer · Management; MIB Trieste School of Management Master of Business Administration
Facts and news, with sourcesthe research behind the overview
Show the facts and the dated news with their sources
Identity
Full name: Palumbo Superyachts S.r.l. (registered in Ancona), the yacht-building arm of the Palumbo Group S.p.A., Naples. source
Founded: Palumbo Group started in Naples in 1967 (Salvatore Palumbo) as a carpentry and ship-repair yard; the superyacht division (Columbus Yachts) was formed in 2008. source 1source 2source 3
Headquarters: Naples (group); Palumbo Superyachts registered in Ancona.
Yard locations (as of 2026): newbuild yards in Ancona (ISA) and Savona (Columbus, ex-Mondomarine); Ortona concession of 13,049 m2 granted 2026-05, opening planned 2027. Refit and repair yards (Palumbo Upfit): Naples, Marseille, Malta, Messina, Ancona, Savona, Rijeka. source 1source 2source 3
Ownership: private, Palumbo family. Rijeka yard (Viktor Lenac) bought in 2018, more than 80% with P&L Shiprepair. source 1source 2
Brands: ISA Yachts (Ancona, joined the group 2016), Columbus Yachts, Extra Yachts (composite, 76 to 130 ft), Mondomarine (Savona, 2018); refit arm renamed Palumbo Upfit in 2026-09. source 1source 2
Size
Employees: not found.
Revenue: Palumbo Superyachts 2025 sales revenue EUR 45.5 million (2024: EUR 81.9 million), production value EUR 157.6 million (up 22%), profit EUR 1.1 million, as reported 2026-10-09. source 1source 2
Order book: about EUR 1 billion, 24 to 25 yachts in build (as of 2026-02 and 2026-07). source 1source 2
Global Order Book 2026 (published 2025-12): 9th worldwide, up from 14th; project count and metres not found. source
Product
Range: 22 to 100 m; steel, aluminium and composite (with carbon). source
ISA Yachts (Ancona): series and semi-custom composite lines (Viper, Sport 120, Unica 40/45, Gran Turismo 45 to 68 m, GTO 70, Classic 65 steel displacement) plus full custom up to 80 to 100 m. New 80 to 90 m platform launched 2026-07. source 1source 2
Extra Yachts: composite semi-custom (X96 and X100 Triplex, Extra 90 Fast).
Flagship: Belita, 79.8 m, 2,220 GT, ISA Custom, Espen Oino exterior, launched in Ancona 2026-09; largest yacht ISA has built. source
Scheduled 2026 deliveries: Columbus Atlantique 38 Principessa Capricciosa, ISA Custom 80 (Belita), ISA GT 67 Sea Raider X, ISA Viper 130, ISA GTO 70.
Leadership
Giuseppe Palumbo — sole director (amministratore unico) of Palumbo Superyachts, as of 2026-09-15. source
Antonio Palumbo — CEO of Palumbo Upfit (refit division), as of 2026-09-07. source
Gianpaolo Lapenna — general manager, Columbus Yachts, as of 2026-02-06. source
No group CEO, CFO or commercial director named in 2023 to 2026 press.
News 2023 to 2026
2026-09
ISA launches Belita, 79.8 m, the group's largest yacht to date.boatinternational.com
2026-09
Refit division Palumbo Superyachts Refit renamed Palumbo Upfit, positioned as ongoing maintenance and upgrade support across 7 Mediterranean yards.boatinternational.com
2026-07
Company states an order book of about EUR 1 billion with about 25 yachts in build; Ortona yard to open in 2027.boatinternational.com
2026-05
Ortona port concession (13,049 m2, slipway) approved for large steel and aluminium builds.superyacht24.it
2026-03
Refit yards report full capacity after a 2025 of "strong consolidation"; largest refit ever started.superyacht24.it
2026-01
ISA sells a new 68 m Gran Turismo to a US buyer.superyacht24.it
2025-12
Palumbo Superyachts rises from 14th to 9th in the Global Order Book 2026.shippingitaly.it
2025-03
Second ISA Classic 65 m (1,420 GT, steel displacement) sold, delivery 2028.superyacht24.it
