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Month: April 2022

Northrop and Johnson acquires SYM

by: Cassandra Tanti
06/04/2022

Luxury yacht brokerage Northrop and Johnson has acquired Med-based Superyacht Management Company SYM.

SYM is a Superyacht management company based in Golf Juan, France, that provides a range of services focused on the operational and management side of owning a superyacht. The acquisition will expand Northrop and Johnson’s growing portfolio of superyacht services, transforming the company into a full-service brokerage covering every aspect of superyacht ownership.

“At Northrop and Johnson, we believe that our continued growth and success are primarily due to the unwavering dedication to providing our clients with the premier yachting experience in every category. With the acquisition of SYM, the growth of Northrop and Johnson’s available services will drive even greater client satisfaction,” said Northrop and Johnson’s President and COO, Daniel Ziriakus. “We only acquire businesses that share the same client-dedicated mission, and SYM is no exception to this. From the moment we met the team, we could see it was a fantastic and completely complementary fit.”

Together with SYM, Northrop and Johnson provide superyacht owners services that include buying, selling, chartering, building, crewing, insurance, yacht management and charter marketing, managing every aspect of ownership.

“Throughout the past 27 years, we have run a very successful client-focused business with more than 30 superyachts and growing our management fleet,” added SYM Founder and Managing Director Ben Young. “I have never really thought about selling, but when Northrop and Johnson approached us, the client focus synergies and business growth opportunities were a great match for our clients and the overall industry.”

Ben Young, Founder of SYM, and his team are expected to join forces with Northrop and Johnson.

Northrop and Johnson has been part of the MarineMax group since 2020. MarineMax expects the acquisition to be accretive in its first full year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alick and Albert to screen at the Cinema for Change Festival

by: Cassandra Tanti
06/04/2022

The documentary Alick and Albert will be one of six films screened in the digital selection out of competition at the Cinema for Change Festival, the 11th edition of which is organised from 5th to 11th April.

The film will be screened online on Friday 8th April 8pm. The session will be followed by a debate in which film Producer Trish Lake and Gilles Bessero, director of the Société des Explorations de Monaco, will take part.

Directed by Douglas Watkin, the film retraces the relationship and exchanges between Prince Albert II of Monaco and Australian artist Alick Tipoti after their meeting at the Oceanographic Museum in 2016, until 2019 on the island of Badu during a Monaco Explorations mission. The film questions the diversity of the relationship between man and nature in today’s world and transmits a universal message in favour of peace, tolerance, dialogue between cultures and harmony between humanity, the ocean and the world.

 

 

 

Top AI pros come together at Cannes conference

by: Stephanie Horsman
06/04/2022

The Palais des Festivals is the scene for a high-level conference hosting more than a hundred speakers from around the globe offering their unique perspectives on the future of artificial intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is a wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence.

This fast-growing field is being populated by some of the best scientific minds in the world and they are coming together from 14th to 16th April for the World Artificial Intelligence Cannes Festival (WAICF) to discuss the diverse world of AI.

The programme will focus on five main topics: AI for Society, AI Today and Tomorrow, AI Strategy, AI Technology and AI Applications.

AI for Society will showcase the benefits of this emerging technology for its people and our planet. AI Today and Tomorrow explores what AI can do in the here and now and what future innovations can bring to humanity and organisations. AI Strategy looks at key insights to scale businesses to the next level, whilst AI Technology will teach how to best use the different technologies to shape innovation. Finally, AI Applications will explain how to make practical use of AI in a variety of industries.

Speakers include a diverse list of professionals and experts such as Irakli Beridze from the UN Centre for AI and Robotics, Laurence Devilliers, Professor of AI and Ethics at the Sorbonne, Seth Dobrin, Chief AI Officer at IBM, and Lucas DiGrassi, Driver for Rokit Venturi Racing.

In addition to the speakers, networking opportunities abound as top CEO’s, entrepreneurs and potential partners will be in on hand, while the exhibition floor will harbour companies on the forefront of AI use. The city itself will also be a part of the event, as Cannes will be transformed into a learning and thinking hub.

The event is taking place both in person and remotely, giving people from all over the world access to the event.

 

 

Photo source: Possessed Photography on Unsplash

 

 

 

 

Obradovic returns to the bench in free-scoring Roca Team win

by: Luke Entwistle
06/04/2022

An imposing AS Monaco Basketball secured a high-scoring victory against Chalons-Reims (90-107) on Tuesday, stretching their seven-match winning streak in the Betclic Elite, whilst securing their 11th victory in 12 in all competitions.

It was an attacking performance from a Roca Team, who could once again count on the expertise and guidance of coach Sasa Obradovic, who made a return to the bench having been ruled out by illness over the weekend.

This game, however, was decided by a stout defensive performance in the third-quarter, which allowed the visiting side to create a lead that couldn’t be overturned by a Chalons-Reims side that fought valiantly throughout as they battle to remain in the division.

Obradovic’s men didn’t register fewer than 24 points in any quarter, but it was their defensive fragility that allowed Reims to stay in the hunt in the opening two-quarters. Donatas Motiejūnas (17) was his prolific self within the key, whilst in the absence of Mike James, Paris Lee stepped up to become Monaco’s leading source of creativity (9 assists) and of points (21).

It was not until after the return from the changing rooms after half-time that the Roca Team’s offensive barrage would manifest into a lead. A 16-0 from Monaco early in the third-quarter provided a fatal blow. It was the usual suspects Lee and Motiejunas who were the architects of that run, whilst Ibrahima Fall Faye also made his presence felt on the court.

Although that defensive sturdiness wasn’t carried into the final-quarter, the offensive might of the Roca Team was enough to grow the gap further (26-31) as they came away with another comfortable victory (90-107). Obradovic’s men remain hot-on-the-heels of Boulogne-Levallois at the top of the Betclic Elite, with only points difference separating the sides.

Monaco next face Alba Berlin at the Salle Gaston Medecin on Friday in the Euroleague, with play-off qualification already achieved, the pressure is off the Roca Team, who will nonetheless be pushing to extend that impressive recent record.

 

 

 

Photo source: AS Monaco Basketball

 

 

 

 

Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks set to appear at Cannes

by: Cassandra Tanti
05/04/2022

Hollywood heartthrob Tom Cruise will walk the red carpet at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for the screening of Top Gun: Maverick and a special tribute to his career, while acting legend Tom Hanks will also make an appearance.

Festival organisers have announced that Tom Cruise will be present for the world premier of his new film Top Gun: Maverick on 18th May, ahead of its public release in France on 25th May, and the US on 27th May. The film, a long-awaited sequel to the cult film in 1986, will be screened out of competition.

Despite a slew of blockbusters, Tom Cruise has only ever made one appearance at the Cannes Film Festival – in 1992 for Ron Howard’s Far and Away, the closing film of the 45th Festival. That evening, he awarded the Palme d’Or to Director Billie August for his film The Best Intentions.

Exactly 30 years later, the Cannes Film Festival will pay him an exceptional tribute for his lifetime achievements. Tom Cruise will have an on-stage conversation with journalist Didier Allouch in the afternoon and will walk the red carpet of the Palais des Festivals for the evening screening of Top Gun: Maverick, directed by Joseph Kosinski.

The Paramount Pictures film was originally scheduled for release on 12th July 2019 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and scheduling conflicts.

See the trailer for Top Gun: Maverick below…

 

Meanwhile, Australian Director, Screenwriter and Producer Baz Luhrmann will attend the Cannes Film Festival to present the world premier of his latest feature film Elvis, along with Austin Butler, Tom Hanks and Olivia DeJonge.

The film explores the life and music of Elvis Presley, played by Austin Butler, seen through the prism of his complicated 20-year relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks. Olivia DeJonge plays one of the most significant and influential people in Elvis’ life, Priscilla Presley.

Baz Luhrmann appeared at Cannes in 2001 for the opening with Moulin Rouge and the competition nominee The Great Gatsby, as well as in 1992 for his first film Strictly Ballroom.

See the trailer for Elvis below….

 

The Cannes Film Festival returns to its normal format this year after being postponed to July 2021 and cancelled altogether in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will take place from 17th to 28th May, ending on the same weekend as the Monaco Grand Prix.

 

 

 

Photo taken from the film Top Gun: Maverick

 

 

 

Rumours of a mass clear-out at AS Monaco dissipate

by: Luke Entwistle
05/04/2022

Philippe Clement’s response to the startling rumours posted in L’Equipe on the eve of the PSG fixture has been two-fold: discourse and action have quashed notions of an impending doom.

Clement’s rejection of the claims at Friday’s press conference in La Turbie put to rest the underlying uncertainty that had surrounded the club throughout the international break. Ironically, since the story surfaced, there has been a notable mood shift, despondency has turned into hope as AS Monaco’s stuttering season is re-ignited.

What was said?

The night before Monaco’s clash against PSG, L’Equipe released an article stating that the owner Dmitry Rybolovlev was set to “clean the house” by sacking not only Clement as manager, but also Paul Mitchell (Sporting Director) and Oleg Petrov (Vice-President).

The article went on to state that the timing was not “fixed”, but that the decision had already been taken. An “angry” Rybolovev was seemingly set to wield the axe and reconstruct the entirety of the club’s hierarchy in one swift blow.

In the aftermath, it argued that Vice-President and husband of Ekaterina Rybolovleva, Juan Sartori, would play a larger role in the running of the club. All of this was in reaction to a month in which Monaco’s season had completely derailed. Out of the Coupe de France and then the Europa League at the hands of what was perceived to be an inferior Braga side, expectations were being lowered on an almost daily basis.

The next day, a Monaco side in complete turmoil came up against PSG. Yet the crisis off the pitch had little to no bearing on what transpired on it. A 3-0 victory dampened the bombastic remarks made in L’Equipe the night before, although a cloud of uncertainty still lingered.

“I am focused on my job”

The incremental dispersal of that cloud continued on Friday when Clement spoke for the first time about those rumours. “I was surprised,” the Belgian coach, who had not long since assumed his role, began. “With the staff and the players, we concentrated on the match, that was clear. I came here in January with a two-and-a-half-year contract, into an ambitious project to technically, physically, tactically and mentally improve and develop young players.”

Most importantly, he said, “I am concentrating on my mission, and I have received absolutely no sign from anyone at the club regarding what was written. I am focused on my work, as we all showed against PSG.”

It is not just his discourse that has dampened those rumours, but the club’s on-field actions, which allude to a late push towards the European places, perhaps even towards the Champions League. Although the current occupier of that podium spot, Rennes, are still six points away, a momentum provided by back-to-back wins for the first time under Clement in Ligue 1, and a squad that is gradually re-finding its feet in terms of fitness and form, provides a glimmer of hope.

Mood and momentum are now on Monaco’s side, but that’s not to say that their run-in is easy, anything but. Difficult matches against relegation strugglers are interspersed with battles against competitors for the European places. Different challenges require different approaches, and there is no more room for missed steps in the coming weeks.

The last two matches have, however, given purpose to the remainder of the season, as ambitious targets of European football can once again return to the forefront, whilst talk of mass upheaval dissipates.

 

 

Photo left to right: Paul Mitchell, Phillipe Clement and Oleg Petrov at a press conference earlier this year, by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life