- December 9, 2025
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If you’ve enjoyed a scenic cruise or charter voyage aboard the Naples Princess luxury motor yacht or the Marco Island Princess sailing catamaran, you have Jenny Gezella to thank for the experience. She’s a rising star at Naples-based Hoffmann Family of Cos, where she is president of Hoffmann Marine, the family office’s division that owns ferries, charter and rental vessels, in addition to marinas and private docks, across Florida, Missouri, Michigan, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Washington state.
Not only does Gezella, 43, oversee operations, but she’s been instrumental in dozens of marine industry acquisitions Hoffmann Cos. has made over the years, totaling about $150 million in deals. One of those includes the recent acquisition of Naples-based Pure Florida, a popular business run by father-son duo Lane and Harry Julian that provides fishing, cruises, dolphin tours, boat rentals, personal watercraft rentals and private charters. Terms of that acquisition weren’t disclosed.
“The Hoffmanns love to grow,” she says, “and they’re excited about the marine division. There’s always another deal on the horizon.”
But what’s made Gezella so good at sniffing out the best deals, and what makes her tick as a leader? Randy Smith, CEO of Naples Transportation & Tours, says Gezella boasts a unique combination of expertise in boating, marketing and hospitality.
“Whenever we have conversations about how we can work more with meeting planners or hoteliers or anyone in the business, she’s one of the first people to always pipe up with thoughts and comments,” says Smith, whose company is also part of the Hoffmann Cos. portfolio and offers chauffeured tourist and corporate transportation services via limos, open-air trolleys, mini buses, Segways, luxury sedans and even a vintage Rolls-Royce. “She has a broad knowledge of the hospitality industry and that helps all of us. She’s also very marketing-minded, like myself, and very good to work with if you want to get stuff done.”
Gezella, however, grew up far from the waters of the Gulf Coast, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where her first job was waiting tables at a newly opened restaurant called Huck Finn’s on the banks of the Mississippi River. Said eatery was owned by SkipperLiner Industries Inc., a maker of recreational and commercial passenger vessels, including many dinner-cruise-type ships.
“I walked in and was the first waitress hired,” she recalls. “I worked my way up to running that restaurant and managing it.”
That opened the door for Gazella to meet SkipperLiner owner Noel Jordan, and after she graduated from Winona State University in Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, business management and communications, he hired her to work at the company’s corporate headquarters. SkipperLiner also had interests in Florida, owning the Naples Princess and the marina where she was berthed.
Yet weighed down by the 2009-09 housing recession, SkipperLiner shuttered in early 2010. It soon reopened under new ownership, then folded again in 2014. Four years later, Hoffmann Cos. seized the chance to acquire several SkipperLiner-made vessels and the firm’s operating companies, along with Gezella.
Hoffmann Marine, Gezella says, has successfully weathered the ups and downs of the business of boating with a simple approach to acquisitions: “We’ve figured out what we’re really good at — we know the SkipperLiner boats, we know passenger ferries, and so we try to stick to those markets.” Then, she adds, “We look for opportunities, whether it’s a bolt-on acquisition or one where there needs to be an investment of capital to redo the vessel or add a second boat.”
With 18 acquisitions since 2018, Hoffmann Marine has greatly expanded its reach and now owns vessels and infrastructure ranging from the Naples Princess and Marco Island Princess to East Dock LLC, a luxury private dock facility on northern Michigan’s Mackinac Island. It also owns Arnold Transit Co., which operates a Mackinac Island ferry service, and the La Crosse Queen, a traditional paddle-wheel riverboat that plies the waters of the Mississippi near La Crosse, where it all began for both SkipperLiner and Gezella.
Today, the Hoffmann Marine fleet includes 54 large vessels and 125 total vessels. It owns 28 docks, four marinas and two shipyards/service centers, and employs more than 1,000 people. (Company officials decline to disclose unit revenues.) That’s a large portfolio for Gezella to oversee, but people who know her well aren’t surprised at the effectiveness of her leadership.
“I was immediately impressed by her energy, her professionalism,” says Katie Adams, managing partner of GlobalWorks, an event and destination management service that’s also part of Hoffmann Cos. “And even after all these years in the industry, Jenny has never wavered, and to this day, she still carries that same fresh, vibrant enthusiasm and passion.”
Adams met Gezella — where else? — aboard the Naples Princess about 20 years ago. Her company started out as a Hoffmann Marine vendor partner before being acquired in 2018.
“She’s got an above-and-beyond approach,” Adams says. “She demonstrates a high level of integrity, service and client support. She’s earned the reputation of being our company’s favorite vendor partner. We know we can always count on her for an exceptional experience for our clients.”
Hoffmann Marine and GlobalWorks, according to Adams, enjoy a symbiotic relationship that’s been productive for both organizations. GlobalWorks partners with many resorts in Southwest Florida, helping guests book experiences such as a Naples Princess cruises.
“We’ll meet with the client, and if they mention that they might be interested in a yacht charter or a sunset cruise, we will reach out to Jenny and check the dates,” Adams says. “She puts the proposal together with her team, and then we market it back to the client. So, we're kind of an internal sales force for her.”
Smith, of Naples Transportation & Tours, says Gezella is a constant source of ideas about how to improve not just Hoffmann Marine, but the firm’s entire hospitality holdings. In fact, her efforts began even before Smith and his team became part of Hoffmann.
“I’ve worked with her basically since she’s been down here,” he says. “We bring groups to them. We’ve done a lot together in terms of land-and-sea tours where you buy a ticket for the trolley and you can also get a ticket for the Naples Princess. We’ve done a lot of joint promotions, and we’ve served on a ton of hospitality association committees.”
That’s another arena in which Gezella excels — creating the proverbial rising tide that lifts all boats. In February 2024, she was named president of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association’s Collier County chapter. She’s also a trustee of the Passenger Vessel Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 1994 that promotes education and safety in the passenger vessel industry.
“I’m a big believer in giving back,” Gezella says, “and the FRLA is a big one, because it affects our whole community of businesses in Southwest Florida. Whether it’s hurricanes or Covid impacts, how do we rally together as a team of restaurants, hotels and attractions in the area?”
When it comes to some of those challenges, Gezella doesn’t sugarcoat her thoughts, particularly when discussing the business environment for Hoffmann Marine.
“The past several years have been challenging,” she says. “We’ve had major storms, but we’ve been fortunate. There hasn’t been damage to any of our vessels, but we had marina damage. I think we’ve learned how to bounce back — and bounce back quickly — but that doesn’t mean the business is always there. It’s always slow to come back, but a lot of the time that’s perception.”
She adds, “When you see a hurricane, the media says all of Florida is destroyed! That’s one of the biggest things we come up against.”
One of Gezella’s strategies to combat such optics is to work closely with local convention and visitors bureaus on messaging. That’s when her marketing mind kicks into overdrive.
“We partner with the CVBs to get the word out that it’s safe, we’re up and running, the beaches are clean, the waterways are clear … storytelling is becoming big in marketing, finding out what touches people,” she says. “We did a big email marketing campaign, a blast to our customers that said, ‘We’re here. We’re ready when you are.’”
She continues, “We showed pictures of our team cleaning up, the sparkling water, the boat at the dock … just reassuring them without the pressure of, ‘Hey, we need the business.’ That was impactful for us and brought good feedback.”
