Steve Fithian

Cell: (954) 383-1999

Office: (954) 926-0400

E-mail: sfithian@hmy.com

I have been in the marine industry for the past 37 years. Most of my early years were spent racing small sailboats, working in the boat dealership, selling sailboat hardware and doing rigging work. Those younger years were so intriguing, that I got to thinking about making a career of it. Initially starting in the sailboat industry, from small boats I gradually moved larger and larger.

I moved to Florida, in 1988, where the business was year-round and the waters were a gorgeous turquoise. I became the Vice President and General Manager of Eastern Yacht Sales, which was to develop into the largest sailboat dealer in the U.S. The Eastern Yacht Sales offices were in West Palm Beach & Miami and sold Catalina, Morgan, Freedom, J Boats, Island Packet, Sabre Yachts, Tartan, and many other smaller sailboat lines.

As time went on, Eastern took on powerboats like the Sabreline 36 fast trawler, Boston Whaler and Cape Dory down-east cruisers. After 6 years in Florida, I knew that Ft. Lauderdale (often referred to as the yachting capital of the world) was the next stepping-stone in my career path. I searched for a company that had the need for someone with my extensive new boat sales background and very strong work ethic.

I chose Hal Jones & Co. because I saw an opportunity and a need for somebody with my knowledge, energy and enthusiasm for selling all series of new and used Grand Banks Yachts. I came to work at Hal Jones & Co. in 1995 and became Vice President of Sales. I continually helped Hal Jones & Co. exceed their expectations in sales for both new and used Grand Banks Yachts: Heritage Series, Eastbay Series and Aleutian Series, achieving numerous sales achievement awards from Grand Banks (from 2001 to 2007). I received the Top Worldwide Grand Banks Salesperson award for selling the most new and used Grand Banks Yachts in their Worldwide Dealer Network for 2003, 2005 and 2006.

With my clients’ specific needs in mind, I have semi-custom built over 58 new Grand Banks Yachts, including 7 of the Grand Banks Aleutian Series since its inception five years ago. Also, I have sold more than 200 pre-owned Grand Banks Yachts during my tenure at Hal Jones & Co. In addition, I have visited both of the Grand Banks factories, located in Singapore and Malaysia, fifteen times since 1995 including seven trips since the beginning of 2005. As a result of my experiences, I have developed very close working relationships with all of the key people at Grand Banks Yachts and have a clear understanding of every detail, from development & construction to commissioning & delivery of every Grand Banks yacht product that I represent.

When the opportunity came in the Fall of 2007, I opened Classic Yachts International and continued as the authorized Grand Banks Dealer for Florida’s East Coast. I was very excited about the new opportunities this company has opened up and achieving even greater sales success as Classic Yachts International. We sold twelve new Grand Banks and 40 brokerage yachts in 2009 alone.

In early 2010 I found an even better opportunity and moved with the Grand Banks dealership to HMY yachts sales in Dania Beach. The office is at the same marina location where Classic Yachts had been operating. HMY has so much more to offer it is incredible. I am able to offer all my clients much more exposure for their listings and spend much more time personally selling and building new yachts. HMY is the largest marine print advertiser with an average of over 25 pages per month in all the leading marine publications. HMY has a very aggressive internet campaign that lists all the boats on at least five sites. We also have offices in Palm Beach, Stuart, Jacksonville and Miami. The list goes on and on.

I am very excited about the opportunity to better serve all my clients in every way possible. With all of my Grand Banks knowledge and experience now combined with HMY we make a fantastic team going forward.