New York-born Matt Emerson is a Senior Partner and Director of the Americas. He heads up all aspects of Burgess’ strategy, growth, and expansion in the United States, as well as Central and South America.

His experience in the industry is vast, starting in 1989 as a deckhand working the Caribbean charter seasons before moving on to manage many of Manhattan’s waterfront operations, and later becoming President of Camper & Nicholsons, USA. In 2012, he joined Burgess to oversee its US operations and expand its divisions throughout America.
 
‘One of the things that attracted me to Burgess was the company ethos,' he says. 'Unlike the closed world of independent brokerage, the Burgess culture is about being a team player and the sharing of information.’ 
 
Over the past decade, Matt has grown the company’s superyacht sales, charter, and yacht management divisions in New York and Miami, as well as overseeing the opening of the Beverly Hills, Aspen, and Palm Beach offices. He became a Senior Partner in 2019 when the Burgess Partnership Scheme was founded and believes it to be a true reflection of the company’s core values and a valuable opportunity to play a steering role in the company’s corporate decisions.

Alongside spearheading the company’s expansion plans, Matt has great expertise in the sale, purchase, and new construction of motor yachts over 50m, with a particular focus on client contract negotiations. The sale of Paul Allen’s motor yachts OCTOPUS and TATOOSH are a career highlight, while liaising with clients and supporting them in complex yacht purchase decisions is one of his favourite aspects of the job – and something that he excels at as a straight-talking American.

‘The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and being a direct communicator is an attribute of mine that my clients have come to know and trust,’ he says. ‘I tell the young brokers coming up in the industry, if you find the right boat for your client, you have a client for life.’