Jeff Brown: Modern Luxury Power Players Spotlight

View the full article on the digital Modern Luxury edition from June 2022

Jeff Brown has been an innovator in the yachting world for decades. After a 20-year career in the Marines as an air traffic controller, Jeff pursued his passion for boating and hasn't looked back since. Throughout Jeff's extensive yachting career, he has been involved in yacht design, sailing schools, racing sailboats, organizing committees to bring world class yachting events to the West Coast and selling premium boats.

For years he ran JK3, a successful yacht dealer and brokerage company recognized as one of the top dealers for brands that included Hanse, J/Boats, Moody, Sabre and Back Cove. In 2018, Jeff and his wife Karen shifted gears to open a boutique yacht sales company in San Diego selling bespoke European yachts. That was just a little over 3 years ago and Jeff Brown Yachts has grown from a two-person company into a 30 person business with 6 offices and marinas in San Diego, Newport Beach, Sausalito, Seattle, Kailua-Kona and Wrightsville Beach.

Jeff Brown Yachts is the exclusive West Coast dealer for Axopar, BRABUS, Pardo Yachts, Pearl Yachts, Sirena Yachts Seven Seas and YYachts. These unique and award winning brands further demonstrate Jeff's entrepreneurial ability to read the market and understand what people are looking for.

Through Jeff's passion for yachting and innovative business acumen came the concept of Mari~Time. Designed for those whose time is limited by other demands, Mari~Time provides a smart path to shared yacht ownership, from the latest high-end day boats for entertaining and enjoyment, to luxury long range cruisers that allow you to explore beyond your home port. All the boats in the fleet are new from the Builder, berthed at Jeff Brown Yachts private marina in Newport Beach Harbor and operated and maintained by a licensed Captain, service professionals and concierge. With continuous access, and all-inclusive support and berthing, Mari~Time is fundamentally changing the way you can own, maintain, and enjoy a luxury yacht.

Jeff is dedicated to working harder than his competitors and is a keen believer of investing to develop the business to its full potential. Willing to take risks, he went against the odds the past two years with innovative premium boat brand offerings, new paths to shared ownership, and the momentum has not lessened. He is a multi-tasker, who not only thinks of better ideas, but can bring those concepts to fruition. As Jeff puts it "The most gratifying part of this business is finding the best possible yacht to fulfill the dreams of each client, who become lifelong friends along the way."