At Sea

Leadership for life
above and below deck

Command
with clarity,
wherever the
water takes you.

Superyacht crews run some of the highest-pressure, highest-stakes leadership environments on earth — 400 square feet of living space, hundred-hour charter weeks, zero HR department. We built for it.

Request an Introduction Explore the Programs

Meritage Leadership Consulting — New Horizons  ·  As seen in All At Sea, September 2026

“A captain commands a nine-figure asset and a twelve-person crew with less leadership support than a first-time manager at a Fortune 500. We think that's backwards.” Susan Drumm — Founder, Meritage Leadership Consulting

The Programs

Four ways we work onboard.

The same discipline Meritage brings to Fortune 500 executive teams — assessments, advisory, peer forums, and immersive team programs — translated for life at sea. Nothing here is off-the-shelf.

01

Crew Compatibility, Mapped

Enneagram-based assessment reveals what actually drives each crew member — the motivation underneath the CV — and predicts friction before it costs you a season. Every profile mapped against the team they're actually joining.

For captains, chief stews & placement partners
02

Owner & Captain, Aligned

The relationship that makes or breaks the vessel, finally given the advisory it deserves — the same confidential counsel Susan brings to CEOs and their boards.

For owners, family offices & owners' representatives
03

The Captain's Circle

A peer table for the one role onboard with no one else to talk to. A small, confidential group of captains, professionally facilitated. By invitation.

For captains & senior officers
04

Dockside Intensives

Our six-week team development program, adapted to the season cycle and delivered where the crew already is — assessments, a team report, and a dockside working day.

For full crews & management companies
See the full programs →

Who We Work With

Tell us where you're standing.

The conversation is different depending on which side of the deck you're on.

Owners & Family Offices

Your vessel performs the way its people do. Quiet, standing counsel on the relationships that carry the asset — owner and captain, family and crew.

For owners

Management & Placement

Every early crew departure lands back on your desk. Compatibility assessment and leadership programs, delivered across your fleet.

For management companies

Captains & Senior Crew

You run a team in the most confined workplace there is — with no training budget and no one to escalate to. We work on the leadership problem.

For captains & crew

Maritime Businesses

Shipyards, brokerages, charter houses — shore teams with the same pressure and higher headcount. Executive development for the industry ashore.

For maritime businesses
Susan Drumm, founder of Meritage Leadership Consulting

Who's Behind It

Corporate-caliber coaching, brought aboard.

Susan Drumm is a CEO advisor and executive coach who has spent two decades developing leaders at some of the world's most demanding organizations — backed by a bench of 25+ certified coaches and the Enlightened Leadership® framework she built.

Harvard Law. Boston Consulting Group. A master's in acting from LAMDA. USA Today bestselling author of The Leader's Playlist.

Meet Susan & the Team

Trusted by leaders at

  • L'Oréal
  • Microsoft
  • KPMG
  • Oracle
  • Cisco
  • ViacomCBS
  • A+E Networks
  • ICONIQ Capital
  • Etsy
  • U-Haul
  • L'Oréal
  • Microsoft
  • KPMG
  • Oracle
  • Cisco
  • ViacomCBS
  • A+E Networks
  • ICONIQ Capital
  • Etsy
  • U-Haul

Start the conversation.

Tell us about your vessel, your fleet, or your family's program — and we'll arrange a time to talk.

Request an Introduction