Sunseeker has announced that former Land Rover managing director Phil Popham (pictured above) will be taking over as the company’s new chief executive officer.

The appointment takes effect on 1 January and sees Phil take over from founder Robert Braithwaite CBE, who has been acting president since the previous Sunseeker CEO Stewart MacIntyre stood down in July.

Phil spent 25 years at Jaguar Land Rover and held numerous titles including group marketing director, group sales director and managing director of Land Rover.

Upon accepting the role he said: “I am delighted to be joining Sunseeker, a famous British luxury brand that I have always admired. It is an incredibly exciting opportunity to lead a company that produces the world’s best luxury performance motor yachts.”

“Tremendous opportunities exist to grow this industry leading, world-renowned brand and I look forward to working with the Sunseeker team to do exactly that.”

While Robert Braithwaite paid tribute to the new man’s credentials, saying: “We are very pleased to welcome him to the team as we develop the next generation of models and continue to strengthen the iconic Sunseeker brand around the world.”

Phil will certainly be in for a busy first few weeks as Sunseeker CEO, with the company due to launch the new Predator 57 motor yacht at the 2015 CWM FX London Boat Show (9-18 January).

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