Sunseeker International, Britain’s biggest boat builder, has announced the appointment of Michael Straughan as Chief Operating Officer.

Michael joins Sunseeker from Bentley Motors Ltd, where he was Member of the Board for Manufacturing and brings with him a wealth of experience in premium luxury manufacture, Sunseeker said.  Having lead the operations of some major production facilities both in the UK and abroad, Michael has provided key direction and substantial improvements for several major brands across multiple and complex product offerings and so will provide Sunseeker with further operational expertise and an uncompromising focus on quality.

Phil Popham, CEO of Sunseeker, said: “We are delighted to welcome Michael to the executive team. It is a testament to the strength of the Sunseeker business today that we are able to attract his calibre of professional with a proven track record of directing successful manufacturing operations within the premium luxury sector.

“Michael will provide us with some crucial operational expertise as we enter an exciting phase of growth and ensure we can increase our production capacity efficiently while maintaining and improving our exceptional product quality. I am really looking forward to working with him and the rest of the team to deliver some bold new product plans that will see us further strengthen Sunseeker’s position as one of the world’s leading yacht builders.”

Michael added: “Sunseeker is a fantastic brand with an incredible reputation around the world for exciting, high quality products and I am delighted to be joining them.  The plans for the business will see this strengthen further still with significant investment planned across facilities and products, so this truly is an exciting time to be joining the business.  I am very excited to be given the opportunity to be a part of the future growth of this iconic brand.”

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