Australian luxury motor yacht builder, Riviera, has announced its 2025 International Dealer Awards in Florida in the United States.
Riviera Australia owner Rodney Longhurst praised the efforts of the company’s international dealer network and the award winners on behalf of Riviera’s team in Australia and in the United States.
“The awards demonstrate that our dealers are embracing our philosophy of excellence and built-for-life quality and that they are constantly striving to create the ultimate boating experience for our owners,” he said.
“Delivering excellence requires a team of people who each have unique skills working together and supporting one another to generate a dynamic that is always endeavouring to be better.
“We truly appreciate the commitment and dedication our international dealership network and we thank them all for their to our yacht owners.”
Riviera Dealer of the Year – Sun Country Marine Group
Riviera Dealer of the Year representatives proudly display their award. From left, Sun Country Marine Riviera Brand Manager Jake Gleadhill, Riviera’s International Sales Director Chris McCafferty, Sun Country Marine Chief Operations Officer Greg Glogow, Riviera Australia owner Rodney Longhurst, President and CEO of Sun Country Marine Group Mike Basso and Riviera West Coast USA Sales Manager Rob Scott.
Accepting the award for Dealer of the Year, Sun Country Marine Chief Operations Officer Greg Glogow said: “Riviera is our flagship brand and to receive this award means a great deal to all of us. We are a customer-first brand, focused on re-investment in customer care.
“Our advantage is our people. We are not afraid to invest in people and, as a result, we believe we have the best. We take the time to train them and ultimately to take care of them.
“We are excited to support Riviera owners to use their yacht in the way they were designed.
“Sun Country has recently expanded into the Pacific Northwest. This is an area where there is a significant Riviera family of yacht owners. This is also a real boater’s area. With our customer-forward thinking and our ability to deliver to our customers, we are looking forward to supporting Riviera in the Pacific Northwest.”
Sales Excellence by a Dealership – Denison Yachting
Chris McCafferty and Rodney Longhurst present Riviera’s Sales Excellence by a Dealership award to Denison Yachting President Bryan Braley.
Denison Yachting CEO Bryan Braley offered the Denison philosophy: “If you want to succeed in sales, you need to succeed in service. We say the salesman sells the first boat and the service team sells the next three.
“We began working with Riviera in 2014. It is one of our oldest and favourite brands and a vital part of our business.
“Riviera is very popular with American boaters, and the Riviera factory relationship and support of owners sits very well with the American buyer. A Riviera motor yacht has a real wow factor when you first step onboard. You can immediately see the superb quality and fit and finish throughout.”
Sales Excellence by an Individual – Javier Perello – Wally Castro Marine and Ned Dozier – Denison Yachting
Riviera’s Sales Excellence by an Individual award was shared this year by Ned Dozier from Denison Yachting (second from left) and Javier Perello of Wally Castro Marine, here congratulated by Chris McCafferty and Rodney Longhurst.
This year the award was jointly shared by Javier Perello of Wally Castro Marine in Puerto Rico and Ned Dozier, Riviera brand specialist at Denison Yachting based at Annapolis, Maryland on the US East Coast.
Receiving the award, Javier said: “I have been associated with Riviera for 13 years now and I love the brand which stands for quality and safety.
“I treat our yacht owners like family. As a result, I always take care of them, no matter when they need my support.
“This attitude is also reflected by the people at the factory in Queensland Australia; they treat us like family also.
Ned Dozier has worked with Riviera for over two decades.
“Over that time, I have become good friends with the team in Australia,” he said. “My wife and I recently hosted our ninth Riviera Rendezvous in Baltimore, Maryland. We had 12 Riviera owners to the event. They are all friends. We travel with them, we go boating with them and this camaraderie is largely because of the boats we represent through Riviera.
“Riviera yachts attract serious boaters and we enjoy supporting and spending time with them.
“Denison has developed a great service and support network which makes our work and focus on our customers both easy and happy.”
Service Excellence by a Dealer – Freedom Marine
The Riviera Service Excellence by a Dealer award was presented to Freedom Marine. Vice-President of Freedom Marine Denis Barnard is congratulated by Chris McCafferty, Rodney Longhurst and Riviera West Coast USA Sales Manager Rob Scott.
Service is paramount in supporting the Riviera family all over the world, so the award for Service Excellence is always highly contested each year.
Denis Barnard, Vice-President at Freedom Marine, based on the Canadian West Coast, said: ”It’s an honour to be recognized by Riviera, a brand we deeply respect.
“This award affirms our focus on quality service, which means being ready, available, knowledgeable, and professional — and making it easy for the owner. We invest in ongoing training so that our technicians are experts in Riviera systems and technology and our mobile service team is available for both emergency and scheduled maintenance.
“The entire Freedom team is genuinely excited about working with Riviera customers and ensuring their ownership experience is the best it can be”.
Event Excellence by a Dealership – Wally Castro Marine
Chris McCafferty and Rodney Longhurst present the Riviera Event Excellence by a Dealership to Wally Castro of Wally Castro Marine.
CEO Wally Castro offered his philosophy for outstanding events.
“Our objective is simply to provide the best experience for our Riviera-owning families in Puerto Rico.
“This year at our exclusive Riviera event held at the Bitter End Yacht Club on the island of Virgin Gorda in the tropical Caribbean Sea, we focused on the ladies with a dedicated training course. We also offered a wide range of family water sports activities and of course, some wonderful social events from sunset cocktails to dinner celebrations.
“The exclusive Riviera event this year was incredibly well accepted. We are already receiving phone calls to pre-book for 2026, many from owners who were unable to attend this year and heard about how much fun everyone had.”
The global Riviera dealership network
The Riviera international dealer network has a commanding global reach with over 55 locations spanning every continent. This network of specialists, offer the exceptional line of Riviera luxury motor yachts from 39 to 78 feet with six individual model design collections. The network provides customer care for more than 6,200 yacht owners around the world. Service, maintenance, warranty support, genuine parts, accessories and a dedicated focus on social, boating education, training and cruising events have created a dedicated global family of yacht owners.
For more information visit www.rivieraaustralia.com
