Kitty McGowan, President, U.S. Superyacht Association 

Kitty McGowan is the President of the U.S. Superyacht Association (USSA) with more than 37 years of proven leadership positions in nearly every aspect of the boating, fishing and superyacht industries. As an experienced industry veteran, she has been a driving force for positive change at the local, national and international levels. In her role as president of USSA, she successfully created a national advocacy platform that created the first U.S. large-yacht flag registry, testified before Congressional Committees on critical industry issues, worked with international partners on developing regulations and has worked to educate the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection agencies about the economic impact of the superyacht industry that helped create relationships to ease U.S. entry for yacht crew. She has also been responsible for expanding the presence of the U.S. superyacht market internationally through the development of successful boat show events in the United States and beyond.

As a focused entrepreneur, Kitty has been the president of Nauticom Communications since 1999, a boutique strategic development and boating industry agency focused on environmental projects, economic impact studies, marketing events, association management and developing worldwide partnerships.

She is a former superyacht chef who has served on such boards as the Marine Industries Association of South Florida, owners of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the Winterfest Boat Parade, the single largest one-day boating event in Florida, the Broward County Convention and Visitors Bureau marketing event and more. She spent two terms representing the recreational fishing industry as the Governor’s appointment to the South Atlantic Fisheries Council and been a tireless supporter of offshore reef development and protection.