After his appointment on April 1, 2018 as head of the Bavaria Catamarans multihull shipyard in Rochefort, Gildas Le Masson answers BoatIndustry's first questions.
You have just left the general management of the marine electronics group Navico France for that of Bavaria Catamarans. Can you explain to us the motivations and the path that led to this change?
For a number of years, I was the General Manager of Navico for France and for some time for Spain. I was also responsible for managing the OEM market in Europe. In this capacity, I was regularly in contact with the Bavaria group. In addition, I had a personal desire for a new professional adventure that made sense in relation to my activity. The Navico organization gave me the experience of managing small entities. In this context, I took the initiative to talk to the director of Bavaria, Lutz Henkel, who came back to me.
You are taking on a position that has not existed since the departure of Bruno Voisard, the former head of Nautitech. What is the purpose of this?
Since his departure, there was a two-headed management, which was not optimal. This was a difficulty in the context of an international group like Bavaria. The management considered that it was necessary to have one person in charge who would always be there, even if the directors remained in place.
What are your tasks within the Bavaria Group?
I am the General Manager of Bavaria Catamarans. This goes beyond the industrial aspect of the Rochefort plant and includes sales and marketing management.
What are the guidelines of your roadmap?
In 4 years, Bavaria Catamarans has experienced a phenomenal growth, going from about 10 boats per year to almost 100 multihulls each year. So I have two objectives. First, I have to consolidate this growth. Then I have to prepare the next step to be able to produce many more in the next few years, because there is no reason for the market to stop here.
What about new building projects?
There are different options on the table. I have to look at these issues from all angles.
To conclude, you are leaving Navico after 10 years. Who will succeed you as general manager?
Gaëlle Linais, who has held many positions within Navico, is taking over the management in France. It has always been my practice to prepare my succession plans and I am particularly pleased to leave the structure in good hands.
