Faces in the Industry: Derrick Hill
By: MIASF Staff
Date posted: Sep 25, 2019 Wed
Tell us where you are from, what brought you to Florida, and how long you’ve lived here.
I grew up in Dallas, Texas. I received my scuba diving certification when I was 12 years old and had opportunities to go on dive trips with my family and continue to take additional certification courses as a teenager.
After getting a business degree and working in the corporate world for a few years, I decided to sell everything and move to Ft. Lauderdale to attend the former ProDive diving school that use to be next to the Hall of Fame swimming pool.
That was the start of a diving and boat captain career that took me to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where I decided to start my own dive business. Twelve years later, I sold the business and moved back to South Florida where I have resided for the last 6 years.
Where do you work, what is your job title, and what does your job entail?
Flagship Management, Maritime Recruiter and business development for the yachting and recreational sector.
My job entails using my experience with human resources and maritime to assist companies in finding strong candidates for specific job openings. This includes the search, initial interviews, references, facilitating interviews, and consulting on offers.
How did you initially become interested in the marine industry?
Scuba diving did it for me early in life.
What is your favorite or most valuable benefit of membership in MIASF?
My favorite benefit of membership is the platform they provide for a variety of networking events. In this day of age where we do so much from our computers, it is great to simply get out and talk to other people in the same industry.
Describe any other community organizations or events with which you are involved.
I sit on the Broward College Marine Engineering Advisory Board, and U.S. Superyacht Association
Tell us about your hobbies and what kinds of things you do for fun.
Other than scuba diving and boating, I play rugby and enjoy running road races.