Darren Vaux

Darren Vaux is owner and Chairman of the Empire Marinas Group in Australia and President of the International Council of Marina Industry Associations (ICOMIA).

Darren is also past-President and current Director of the Boating Industry Association of Australia, Chairman of the Ministerial Maritime Advisory Council in New South Wales and was the Chair of AS3962:2020 Marina Design standard committee.  Darren is also an active member of ICOMIA’s International Marinas Group and is a regular speaker at the World Marinas Conference series.  Darren has been leading the rollout of ICOMIA’s Pathways to Propulsion Decarbonisation for the Recreational Marina Industry around the world since its launch in November 2023 at Metstrade Amsterdam and is looking forward to sharing these insights with colleagues in New Zealand.

Empire Marina Bobbin Head in Sydney is one of the most awarded marinas in Australia having been Australian Marina of the Year twice and the first marina in Australia inducted into the Australian Marina Hall of Fame and the first marina in Australia to achieve 5 Gold Anchor Platinum status in 2018.  The marina also won best marina restaurant in 2021 and best boatyard under 20 boats in 2023. Empire Marinas is now planning a major expansion of Empire Marina Lake Macquarie which will make it one of the largest marina and boatyards in New South Wales.

With over 35 years experience in the Property and Marina Industries Darren has a wide breadth of knowledge and experience in navigating complex regulatory frameworks and delivering large and sophisticated projects.    Darren has a deep understanding of government policy frameworks in the boating and marina Industries and is passionate about sharing and using this expertise to drive change through embracing financial and environmental sustainability, technology and innovation within the boating and marina industries.