Chris Bouton

It’s been a rather unusual first season for 46-year-old entrepreneur Chris Bouton and his new Westport 112, Indigo. When we speak, the Covid-19 crisis is fast approaching its peak. Bouton is holed up at his main home in Newburyport, Massachusetts, while his yacht – which he’s only taken out a couple of times since chaos descended – is more than a thousand miles away in West Palm Beach. Nevertheless, he remains pragmatic. “I think, if anything, these recent events highlight some of the things that 1 really believe in – paying attention to the natural environment, and understanding our role in the proper shepherding of it,” he explains.

A neuroscience PhD by training, Bouton is clearly passionate about the life sciences. In the early days of his career, The Human Genome Project (an international project to map all human DNA) was just finishing up. “It was the first time we could really study biology using computers,” he enthuses. “Suddenly, there was this new tool that was fundamental to our research – and I think my interest in data has always been just an extension of my interest in science.”