when it’s built on experience
YANOVA may be a new name, but it is built on decades of leadership in the superyacht and aviation industries.
Our team brings hard-earned knowledge, operational depth, and a proven ability to deliver where it matters most. We combine global perspective with disciplined execution.
Daniel, after many years in leadership at a global yacht firm, why launch YANOVA now?
Daniel Küpfer: After more than two decades in the industry as a captain, project manager, managing director, and board member of a yacht brokerage company, I wanted to return to the essence of what this business is really about. Not just managing processes, but shaping quality. Not repeating what has been done before, but doing it with more thought and purpose.
How does that translate into how YANOVA works?
Daniel Küpfer: Everything we do is grounded in experience and guided by clear intention. We focus on decisions that create long term value, such as ownership structures, risk management, and operational integrity. Much of the value we deliver is not immediately visible, but you feel it in the reliability, the quiet coordination, and the ease it creates for the owner.
What enables that level of service?
Daniel Küpfer: Loyalty, long memory, and professional discipline. We do not just complete tasks, we connect them. Everything fits into a coherent framework. That is what gives our clients confidence.
And the next generation?
Daniel Küpfer: That is a core part of our thinking. We founded YANOVA as a partnership-based company to offer experienced and committed professionals a path to long term involvement. In our industry, people with real service values are becoming rare. Our structure helps retain them. That is how we protect quality and ensure sustainable growth.
How has your own background shaped this?
Daniel Küpfer: I started young, sailing on traditional square riggers. I have worked on cargo ships, private yachts, and held senior executive roles. That mix of operational realism and strategic thinking defines how we work. We are grounded, precise, and focused on what matters. YANOVA is based in Liechtenstein.
What was the thinking behind that?
Daniel Küpfer: Liechtenstein offers exactly what this type of business requires: a robust and internationally recognised corporate structure, an efficient regulatory environment, and excellent administrative reliability. Its central location in Europe allows us to stay close to our Clients, to the assets we represent, shipyards, and manufacturers. It provides the right platform for stable operations today and international expansion in the future.
If you had to summarise YANOVA in one sentence?
Daniel Küpfer: YANOVA is an invitation to do things better, for people who do not leave anything to chance.
Our Leaders
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Daniel Küpfer
Founder & Managing DirectorSwiss-born Daniel Küpfer began his seafaring career in 1989, gaining early experience on classic tall ships and later serving on cargo, passenger vessels, and yachts. He studied nautical science at the University of Applied Sciences in Bremen and obtained his Master Mariner license in 1999, qualifying him to command commercial vessels of any size worldwide.
He returned to private yachting the same year, captaining a 52-metre motor yacht and later managing family-owned yachts. Following the closure of the family office, he co-founded the yacht management division of a company that would become one of the world’s leading brokerage firms.
Daniel successfully oversaw numerous yacht projects up to 160 metres in length, including new builds, refits, and full operational management, while ensuring ISM, ISPS, and MLC compliance. In 2011, he co-founded the company’s crew management division, which now employs around 400 crew members.
Daniel served as Managing Director and Board Member, during which time he introduced QMS, GDPR, and AML/KYC processes and led the organisation through its first OECD-compliant audits. He also conducted brokerage activities in both sales and charter.
Highly connected throughout the industry, Daniel left the company in 2024 to launch YANOVA.
From 2020 to 2023, Daniel chaired the Yacht Management Committee of MYBA (The Worldwide Yachting Association), working alongside his peer group of leading management professionals. He currently serves as a consultant to MYBA.
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Aliena Sütterlin
Co-FounderAt just 16 years old, Aliena Sütterlin began her aviation career in Germany as an aircraft technician, specialising in the maintenance and restoration of historic aircraft. Her journey has since evolved into leadership roles across renowned aircraft operators and Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisations in Switzerland.
Aliena has held management positions recognised by aviation authorities, with expertise spanning regulatory compliance, airworthiness management, aircraft outfitting oversight, and maintenance coordination.
She brings a strong combination of global project management experience, technical depth, a structured, solution-oriented mindset, and the valuable perspective of a younger generation.
With over a decade of experience in Continuing Airworthiness and Technical Services Management, Aliena has built a broad skill set across all phases of the aircraft lifecycle — including registration, airworthiness management, airworthiness reviews, and maintenance oversight.
She holds EASA certifications as a Nominated Person for Continuing Airworthiness and as Airworthiness Review Staff for multiple aircraft types. With proven international experience and strong leadership capabilities, Aliena is a dedicated and highly skilled professional in the field of aviation.
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Malte Schweigert
Technical ManagerAfter completing high school in the vibrant city of Berlin, Malte pursued his passion for the sea by joining one of Europe’s most reputable shipping lines as a cadet in the nautical and technical department. Upon completing his Bachelor’s degree in Ship Operation Technology, he advanced to the role of Engineer Officer.
Eager to deepen his understanding of the maritime industry, he furthered his education by studying Operation and Management of Maritime Systems, specialising in the management of ship operations, maritime logistics, and supply chain management. In 2017, after gaining nearly a decade of valuable onboard experience, Malte transitioned ashore to integrate the comprehensive knowledge from his studies with practical business experience in shore-based maritime companies.
He initially joined the engineering department of a renowned Northern European shipyard, known for constructing some of the world’s largest yachts, and subsequently worked as a superintendent for a cruise ship company.
Driven by his keen interest in maritime management and his fascination with the yacht industry, Malte joined YANOVA in spring of 2025, where he strengthens the team as Technical Manager.
