Arksen appoints new sales and marketing director

Explorer and adventure yacht builder, Arksen has appointed Dominic Byrne as its new sales and marketing director.

Byrne brings over 25 years’ experience in the luxury marine and data communications industries to this newly created role, where he’ll provide hands-on leadership and develop sales and marketing strategies to penetrate both domestic and international market.

Starting out in the IT industry, Byrne worked in Europe and the US with start-up companies which were pioneers in the field of data communications but needed help to go from inception through to floatation on the NASDAQ index. 

“The dot com wave of the nineties gave me the opportunity to work for a couple of IPO success stories and this eventually enabled me to pursue my passion for yachting and begin a career in the luxury marine sector with one of Sunseeker’s leading European distributors,” says Byrne. Leaving the business in 2009, Byrne has held several senior management positions within the sector, including those with Ahoy Club and Gulf Craft.

More recently, and prior to joining Arksen, Byrne was involved with the launch of a premium lifestyle business specialising in yacht co-ownership.

“I was simply captivated by the Arksen story and the more I read about its founder Jasper Smith, the more I was inspired,” Byrne says. “I felt an instant affinity with the ethos of the company, its commitment to sustainability and the work it does to help better understand and protect the oceans. My immediate sights are on securing an order for the next Arksen 85 (hull No.3) and landing the first order for the Arksen 65 series.

“Longer term, the goal is to help build the brand’s reputation as the explorer yacht of choice in the 20 – 30 metre range and, in parallel, develop the market opportunity for a series of sub 45ft Arksen adventure vessels.”

Arksen founder and chairman, Jasper Smith, comments: “We’re in an exciting period of growth for Arksen and Dominic’s appointment plays a crucial role in our plans to be able to reach more people with not only the Explorer Series, but also our Yachts for Science programme and 10% For The Ocean charity.”

The interim head of sales at Arksen, John Solomon, is currently handing over to Byrne in line with the company’s on-track growth strategy, following a successful 23-month tenure of the post. Solomon will continue to support the company’s sales efforts during this next phase of development, alongside his core business at Seven Superyachts.

In addition to Byrne’s appointment, Arksen has created and filled five new roles. These include Rob Vankalsbeek as technical project manager, Donald Hung as digital marketing lead, Sonia Jackson as communications and events lead, George Johnson as project engineer and Matthew Morgan as client project manager.