Guillaume Verdier


Guillaume Verdier is a French naval architect noted for his designs of high performance sailboats.

Life

Verdier was born 28 September 1970. He studied naval architecture at the University of Southampton and then at the University of Copenhagen.

Career

Verdier was recruited in 1997 by the company Finot-Conq, Which is known for its designs of 60-foot sailboats. He worked notably on the development of Christophe Auguin's Geodis, Yves Parlier's Aquitaine Innovations and on the conception of Sodebo, Somewhere and on PRB 3 as well, the winner of the Vendée Globe in 2000-2001 with Michel Desjoyeaux.
In 2001, he founded his own company, whose first design was the Yves Parlier's Hydraplaneur.
In 2004, he was part of the design team for the Areva Challenge, which participated in 2007 America's Cup.
From 2006, he began working with naval architects Marc Van Peteghem et Vincent Lauriot-Prévost of VPLP design. Together, they created numerous 60-foot boats:
In 2010, he joined the Emirates Team New Zealand to design the AC72 with the team of Grant Dalton for the America's Cup in 2013.. He contributed to the development of foils that permitted the sailboat to leave the surface of the water and to attain speeds in excess of 40 knots.
In 2014, he designed the monohull Comanche with the intention of creating the fastest monohull in the world.
Following his experience with ETNZ, Verdier worked on Banque populaire VIII of Armel Le Cléac'h, a 60 foot monohull launched in 2015.
In 2017 the trimaran Maxi, designed for Edmond de Rothschild, was launched.

Awards

In 2016, the University of Southampton, his alma mater, awarded him with an honorary doctorate of engineering degree.