S
itting in a booth in Lester’s Diner, a
popular meetup for marine profession-
als in Ft. Lauderdale, I sipped a cup of
coffee and glanced at the door waiting
for Turan Ozbakir, the new owner of
Vicem Yachts.
Had I not Googled him before our meeting
I certainly wouldn’t have pegged the young,
slender man in jeans and V-neck T-shirt who
walked in as the owner of such a prestigious
company. His olive skin and jet-black hair—
along with a furiously buzzing phone—be-
trayed his incognito identity.
A graduate of Ft. Lauderdale’s Nova South-eastern University with a bachelor’s in busi-
ness administration and management, and a
master’s in entrepreneurship, Ozbakir joined
Vicem more than seven years ago. He started
in customer service and then held several oth-
er positions, then spending the last five years
as the brand’s sales and marketing director,
before becoming owner earlier this year.
The new role is a big challenge for the young
Turk, but it’s one he plans to attack head on.
That much became clear before a menu could
even be brought to the table.
“You know what I’m trying to do?” asked
Ozbakir in an accent that’s a blend of TurkishVICEM—LED BY A YOUNG, AMBITIOUS NEW OWNER—
BLENDS TRADITION WITH INNOVATION IN THE NEW 46IPS.
BY DANIEL HARDING JR.ODYSSEY
AT THE CROSSROADS
40 POWER & MOTORYACHT / JUNE 2017 WWW.PMYMAG.COM