Neil Pryde has set that he wil retire as Managing Director of Pryde Group, effective December 31st, 2013. Neil Pryde will become the Chairman of the company after retirement and will devote most of his time in promoting and supporting the company’s business activities around the world.
Patrick Pender, currently Deputy Managing Director, will become Managing Director and Peter Lui, currently CFO for the company, will become Chief Operating Officer. George Poon from Shriro Pacific Limited will be heading the financial functions and all new appointments will be effective from 1st January 2014.
Patrick Pender has 30 years of experience in management, brand building, manufacturing and retailing. Having been a part of management teams at the Gaastra Group, Guess Watches, Oozeeki and Bvlgari, he brings with him a broad range of experience and an understanding of the European, American and Asian markets. Mr. Pender is also a world-class sailor with first hand understanding of the sports the Pryde Group is involved in.
In making this announcement, Neil Pryde commented:
“The decision for me to step back from active management of the company that I founded 43 years ago is obviously a significant milestone in the company’s history and in my life. Pryde Group represents my life’s work and I am extremely proud of what we have been able to create in one of the world’s leading action sports companies with market leading brands in Windsurfing and Kitesurfing.
I certainly could not have achieved anything we have done without the support of an incredibly loyal group of colleagues and employees and I will not forget the effort you have made on behalf of the company. I wish you well for the future.
I am confident that Patrick with his experience and leadership will bring us greater success and I hope you will give Patrick the same support you have given me over many years.
Peter Lui has been my close associate for more than 13 years and I am delighted to see him in his new role as Chief Operating Officer and I am sure he together with Patrick will be instrumental in the future success of the company.
As you are aware, I will become the Chairman of the company and remain as a member of the Board of Directors. You may be assured, I will continue to maintain a very strong interest in all of the company’s activities and the progress of its employees.”
Vasco Fung, Group Chief Executive Officer of Shriro Pacific Limited, the controlling shareholder in Pryde Group, commented on Mr. Pryde’s retirement:
“We have enjoyed a very successful partnership with Neil Pryde since 1986 and are very grateful for his considerable contributions to the success of the company.
Neil has shown strong leadership since founding the business in 1970 and successfully transformed the company into an international sports group with operations in Asia, USA and Europe.
We all wish Neil a very happy retirement and surely he will continue to provide valuable support and advice to the new management which will be important to the continuous success of the company.”
Meet Starboard Windsurfing’s Brand Manager Tiesda You, in this series of Starboard’s Tiki Documentary. Starboard has even called him, the “Golden Child”. Tiesda has been designing boards since 2000, including the famous Carve, the first Kodes and now the Atom IQ!
Tonky Frans has released his new website, and it’s packed full of images, video, and updates. Keep up to date with this freestyle master at tonkey-frans.com.
Gun Sails is happy to announce the return of Josh Angulo, this is the third time in his career he will be on Gun Sails, after leaving the Point-7 Black team this fall.
“Some guys compete to travel, some to party… I’ve already done both those things, now it’s time to win!” says Josh Angulo who hopes to attack the podium on the 2013 PWA Tour.
Simmer Style is proud to welcome the talented and cheerful polish wave sailor Justyna Sniady to their international team.
Her sailing has always had a flair for the dramatic and this year her enthusiasm and hard charging demeanor will shine bright Worldwide. She charges hard in every situation and can’t be taken lightly in any heat, either tack. The Polish sensation is only getting started with us, welcome to the Simmer Nation, Justinya. – Simmer Style
I’m really excited about joining Simmer Team! It is a great bunch of people who know how to have a good laugh while pushing the performance on the water as well. I have really good memories of Simmer as I landed my first frontloops and pushloops on their sails a few years ago in Pozo. Also as soon as I jumped on my new 2013 Simmer Sails my backloops just clicked so I think we make a good match!:) I really like both Icons and Blacktips – they are light, maneuverable, really stable and most importantly for my style of sailing – pretty unbreakable! 🙂 It’s great to be back on the water and get the support despite my severe injury from last year. – Justyna
Freestyle windsurfer Jamie Drummond has joined with Watersports World as there Muvi camera representive for windsurfing.
Adam Sims signs to well know California based headwear company Neff. Neff is well know in the US particularly int he Snowboard industry and is working on making inroads into the watersports sector and the UK market, where Sims is based.
Here is what Adam Sims had to say:
“I’m stoked to sign to Neff, I already loved the gear so it really is awesome to be using it. Not so well known in the water-sports world and less so in the UK, my main focus is to bring it to these peoples attention. The UK team are currently working on a new website which will be launched soon from what I gather and will contain all the stock, in the meantime here are the current collections –www.neffheadwear.com“
Top French Freestyle Windsurf Julien Mas has left Hot Sails Maui and joined with German brand Sailloft. Othernotiable names on the Sailloft team are Adrian Beholz, Adam Sims and Mathias Genkel. At the moment the 32 year old Julien is training in the warm waters of Aruba, check out this clip.
Roberto Hofmann is a strong voice for windsurfing, teaching hundreds of new and upcoming talens each year, but also commenting to the hundreds of thousands of fans as he hits the road with the PWA every year. He competed on the Professional Windsurfing Tour between 1990 and 1995, so racings in his DNA, and in 2012 won several important races in Italy and the IFCA Slalom Worldchampionship in the G-Master category.
Read more about Roberto over on star-board.com
Hot Sails Maui continues to grow there team. and recently announced the signing of Irish ripper Katie McAnena to the international team. In the last year she’s been all over with appearances in the AWT, BWA, IWA and PWA tours.
More about Katie at the Hot Sails Maui Blog.
The Loft Sails are happy to announce that Israeli freestyle expert Yarden Meir joins our international team for 2013!
Yarden was ranked 11th PWA in 2011 after 6 events that year, but last year he was not able tocompete due to an injury that kept him out of the competition season. He is back in 2013 with Loftsails, and targets the podiums on the PWA. Yarden is currently training in Vietnam for 2 months and preparing a new action movie.
Best of luck to Yarden in the 2013 season !
Hot Sails Maui is pleased to announce thatUk speed sailor, wave sailor and fin designer Steve Thorp has signed with them. Steve who is one of a handful of people to sail at over 50 knots will be working closely with designer Tom Hammerton and team mate Martyn Ogier as they all prepare for a mission to Luderitz 2013.
Steve joins a growing team of talented riders at Hot Sails Maui as the brand continues to develop and move into new markets.
Another update from Fanatic on sponsorship and the Business side.
Today Fanatic announced that Daniel Aeberli, previously Brand Manager/Shaper at F2, will join our Fanatic Team as International Product Manager. Daniel will start his new job February 1st.
“I have known Dani since many years, he has provided us with some great Choco Fins for a number of our Fanatic board models. Dani brings a wealth of experience with him in both Product Development and Marketing. He will be a perfect addition to our team, supporting both Sebastian Wenzel, Juergen May and myself in the Product Development department. As well as being a great brand ambassador at events and connecting with our Pro Team, to develop the best products out there. We are really excited to get Dani started, we will be keeping him very busy in future!” – Craig Gertenbach, Fanatic Brand Manager
“What a great change! I am more than happy to join the Fanatic team. I always knew if I would ever change to another brand, that I would want people around me who live 100% for our great sport. Craig Gertenbach and Sebastian Wenzel are in the industry since many years and have so much experience to share. They both started their careers as racers and made their way to the top at a brand like Fanatic, one of the strongest brands in Windsurfing and Stand Up Paddling. I believe I proved at F2 over the last years that I have high quality design skills, as well as good organisational and marketing talents. And now I will have this amazing chance to join this already powerful team to develop even better products for Fanatic. I am more motivated than ever, looking forward to a great future to push my love of windsurfing to the next level.” – Daniel Aeberli
The Dutch rider Pieter Bijl (33), currently living on Maui, a very experienced rider who started his profession career in 1998 on the PWA tour. Peter is not only a racer but has worked for Fanatic, NeilPryde and JP to develop many products for the sport. After two year riding and working for JP he’s going to be joining Angulo boards. He joins Angulo as European commercial manager and product developer.
“The fun factor mixed with a very high level of professionalism is what Pieter brings to the table. He and I really see eye to eye on how we like to push things forward with minimum beaurocracy and great expediency . Pieter’s work ethic is probably unrivalled in the windsurf industry and now Angulo and it’s customers will benefit directly from his skill and experience. Also, I’m confident that Pieter will be firmly established in PWA top 10, which is a nice feather in our cap. Pieter and I will work hand in hand to develop the brand and have agreed that focus on the product is off first and foremost importance and our 2013 boards reflect the attention to detail. Welcome Pieter!” Josh Angulo
Hawaiian Soul Surfers TV published an in-depth interview with the legendary Robby Naish, perhaps the most household name in windsurfing, with interesting insight into his life and influences growing-up on Oahu and his journey to becoming a family man and figurehead of the boardsports world and industry.
A must watch!
