Southampton’s Oyster Yachts’ interim CEO makes role permanent
Southampton-based Oyster Yachts has appointed Ashley Highfield as its new CEO.
Ashley's appointment, which comes five months after he was appointed interim CEO in September 2022, will see owner and former CEO Richard Hadida taking over as chair of the company’s board.
Ashley said: “One could say that this is the ultimate job swap, as Richard was previously CEO. This new structure will give Richard the opportunity to concentrate on new product development and the future range of our yachts, while I will concentrate full-time on this new CEO role, building on the excellent work of the past four years, with this next phase in Oyster Yachts’ voyage.”
Richard said: “I have known Ashley for literally decades and have been hugely impressed by his energy, experience, and vision across a number of businesses. In more recent years, Ashley and I have been closely working together on the successful turnaround of Oyster and the growth of its topline revenues and brand.
“Ashley has a deep understanding of, and buy-in to, our goals as a business, and I am truly delighted that he has accepted the role of chief executive officer.”
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