Mike Reischmann - CEO Kenyon Grills

There are some people you meet in business who are clearly building a product… and then there are those who are on a mission.

Mike Reischmann of Kenyon Grills is firmly in the second category.

Sitting down with Mike at IBEX in Florida, you immediately feel it — his enthusiasm is so genuine and so powerful, it’s like he’s saving the world one grill at a time. And in the boating industry, he just might be. With Kenyon Grills cornering over 90% of the market in their space, there’s no doubt he has created an exceptional product that boaters trust.

But what really stood out to me wasn’t just the market share — it was the craftsmanship and innovation behind it. These grills feature unique design elements that Mike has painstakingly developed over the years. Every detail has been considered, refined, and engineered for the marine environment. And understandably, those innovations are carefully protected with patents — when you build something this good, you protect it.

The atmosphere at IBEX made this conversation even more special. There’s an energy at that show — the pulse of the marine industry all in one place — and Mike’s passion fit it perfectly. His energy is truly infectious. You’ll hear it in his voice. You’ll feel it in the way he talks about his team, his customers, and the relentless pursuit of getting it right.

If you’re in the boating space — or simply appreciate entrepreneurs who care deeply about what they create — you’re going to love this conversation.

For more details about Kenyon Grills and their incredible product range, visit https://www.cookwithkenyon.com.

And if you haven’t experienced IBEX yet, make sure you visit https://www.ibexshow.com/ and plan to attend in 2026. It’s an event that brings this entire industry to life.

I hope you enjoy my chat with Mike. If you do, please like and subscribe, and leave us a review so we can continue to champion voices like his and share more stories from leaders shaping our industry.

Let’s dive in.

Nicky x

Welcome to the Cannes Yachting Festival — where the sun hits the water just right, the pontoons are basically catwalks, and you can walk from a 5-metre day boat to a 50-metre statement piece in about three minutes… if you don’t get distracted every six seconds.

Today’s guest is the person who makes this whole floating city run on time: Sylvie Ernoult, Director of the Cannes Yachting Festival — and, frankly, the only person here moving faster than the tenders.

And a quick warning: if you’re listening thinking, “Oh great, an interview at a boat show — relaxed pace, scenic background…” — you’ve never tried to catch Sylvie. Because here’s what happens: you spot her at Vieux Port, you make eye contact, you wave… and by the time you’ve said “Bonjour,” she’s already halfway to Port Canto, apparently teleporting between meetings, pontoons, and VIP drop-ins like she’s running the Monaco Grand Prix — but in flats, with a radio, and 700 boats waiting for her decision.

So we’re thrilled we managed to intercept her and her successor for long enough to put a microphone in front of them – it’s a quick but meaningful chat!

Sylvie has led the festival since 2013 (the show began in 1977 believe it or not), and 2025 marks her final edition as Director before handing over to her successor, Constance Brément . We’re going to talk about what it takes to run Europe’s biggest in-water boat show, why women make such great show organisers and what happens now as she hands over.

Sylvie Ernoult is the longtime director of the Cannes Yachting Festival, appointed show manager in 2013 (then under Reed Exhibitions France, alongside the Fédération des Industries Nautiques). She has described having grown up in Le Havre, with the sea “part of her DNA,” and says she has spent almost her entire career connected to the maritime/yachting world.

Since taking leadership, she has overseen the festival’s growth and the operational reality of running a two-site show across Vieux Port and Port Canto, with the event structured into distinct “worlds”/sectors to manage scale and visitor flow. 2025 is a symbolic “handover” year: Sylvie’s final edition as director before passing leadership to Constance Brément.

A few facts about Cannes Yachting Festival

• The Cannes Yachting Festival was founded in 1977 and has grown into a flagship European boating event.
• It’s widely positioned as Europe’s largest in-water boat show, staged across two ports: Vieux Port and Port Canto.
• The show’s modern identity also reflects its increasing international focus; the official site highlights its scale and “world capital of yachting” feel during show week.

2025 show stats

From official festival information and 2025 reporting, the 2025 edition landed around:

• Nearly 56,000 visitors
• About 710–711 boats on display
• Roughly 677–680 exhibitors
• 147 world premieres (reported as a major jump year-on-year)

https://www.cannesyachtingfestival.com/en-gb.html

Follow us on Instagram @theboatprincess

Sign up for our events and happenings news at

https://www.theboatprincess.com/

Princess Yachts is not a brand that sponsors me or I am directly linked to, but my first decent size motor yacht was a Princess, so it has to be said, I have a soft spot for them. (The hint is in MY brand name)

But there is more to it than having owned one (and for that matter intending to own another in the future). Their values align with mine. Despite being a luxury brand, they have a humble approach to their clients. They believe the clients know more about the boats than they do and thus they as Will expresses in this interview “we have two ears and one mouth and use them proportionally” listening to what their clients need and responding accordingly.

Will and I met for the first time in 2018 when, as a Princess owner visiting the UK, my family and I visited the shipyard – at which they were both generous with their time and open with their tour – allowing us to truly experience where and why these beautiful motoryachts are built. 18,000 Princess Yachts have been built over time and their company is a substantial employer in Plymouth in the UK – with multiple generations working as craftspeople across all of the different build processes – from electrical looms to perfectly finished furniture, from fuel tank building to fibreglass laying, Princess is proud of just how much of their build is done in-house.

Will has been with Princess Yachts 23 years this year, joining just before Southampton Boat Show in 2003. In his first few days he experienced the product first-hand on a delivery run to the show from Plymouth, Cornish Pasty in hand (on the flybridge of course so the crumbs blew away and didn’t upset the stylists at the show) - what a way to start!

In this interview we discuss how his boating life started, how stabilisation has changed how people go boating, the new products Princess are bringing out to cater to those client needs they have been listening to, and their return to building Superyachts – their last 40m was delivered some 7 years ago – so this is not new to them – it’s returning to a space they know meeting the demands of a market demanding bigger boats but also a client base that they don’t want to lose to another brand simply because they don’t have a boat big enough.

I hope you enjoy my chat with Will – aboard a beautiful Princess flybridge at Cannes Yachting Festival.

Let me know what you think in a review please!

UPDATE: Excitingly our new office base and Podcast Studio is coming together in the Marine Precinct in Coomera on the Gold Coast – looking forward to sharing more with you in the near future! Nicky x

Sign up for our News and Events on my website

Follow me on Linked IN

Follow me on Instagram

For more information on Princess Yachts go to:

https://www.princessyachts.com/