Born 1965 in Redditch,
Worcestershire
Graduated from the
University of Aston with
a first class BSc (Hons) in
management studies
Joined Land Rover as a
Graduate Trainee in 1988
and gained international
experience in South Africa
as Marketing Director,
and as Vice President of
Marketing in the US
Spent two years as
Head of Operations for
Volkswagen Commercial
Vehicles from 1999
Returned to Land Rover
in 2001, becoming Group
Marketing Director of Jaguar
Land Rover in 2013
Married, has a son and
daughter, and supports West
Bromwich Albion
Owns a 6.5m RIB (rigid
inflatable boat), which he
enjoys with his family
THE INVESTOR
|
19
INTERVIEW
Chris Terry
CV
The boat market in China
is still nascent, but Popham
wants to be ready when
it takes off.‘The Chinese
consumer hasn’t yet fallen
in love with boats.We need
to be in a position to meet
demand when this passion
does start growing,’ he says.
Popham learned about
supply and demand
from a very early age.
His grandfather set up a
company making plate
hangers. His parents took
over the business, but his
father died when Popham
was just 12, and so his
grandparents stepped back
in to help run the company.
Joining the family
business, however, was
never an option as far as
Popham was concerned. He
was single-minded about
entering the motor industry
so his mother sold the
business when he left school.
Sending job applications only to motor
companies, he chose an offer from Land Rover
because it was a global brand that would enable
him to travel and develop his career quickly.
He spent three years in Johannesburg, South
Africa, followed by 18
months inAnnapolis,
Maryland, in the US.
Sunseeker is also a
global company, with
offices or servicing outlets
in 45 countries.About
80% of its business comes
from the US, the Caribbean
Rover – one of the dealerships he oversaw
was next door to the yachtmaker’s base in
Poole, Dorset.‘I always admired Sunseeker
and remained interested in the brand since
my first visit in 1991,’ says Popham.‘So when
Wanda [DalianWanda Group, the Chinese
conglomerate that owns Sunseeker] made
me the offer to head up the company, it really
wasn’t a difficult decision.’
As well as Popham, Sunseeker has
appointed a new Chief Finance Officer
and Operations Director, both from large
international business backgrounds, to
strengthen the executive team. Popham
feels that having these new senior people
working alongside long-term Sunseeker
staff who understand and have a passion for
the company is a‘killer combination’. From
a personal perspective on making the step
up to CEO, he adds:‘Sometimes it can be a
lonely role because, unlike my previous roles,
I haven’t got my boss here.The chairman is in
China, but I’m really enjoying the challenge.’
Although the luxury yacht market had
a difficult recession, and has come out of
this period rather later than other luxury
industries, Sunseeker has sold all its capacity
in 2015 and has an order book for 2016 up
70% year-on-year. It produces about 130
yachts a year, with half of those being built at
any one time and build
times stretching from
three months to two
years.The company
employs around 2,000
people in Dorset
across its Poole and
Portland sites and
is recruiting 38 new
apprentices from
September – its highest
ever intake.
There’s always a bit
of trepidationwhen
you are helming
a multi-million
pound yacht
and the Mediterranean, and
Popham says customers
tend to be self-made and,
obviously, wealthy.
More than half the buyers
of new yachts come to Poole
to see their boats being built.
‘It’s an emotional purchase,’
says Popham.‘No one needs
a luxury yacht – they want
a luxury yacht. Some will
have saved all their life for
this – it’s a retirement
present to themselves.At
the top end of the range
customers will be spending
£24 million on a yacht.
That’s never loose change.’
Sunseeker will launch
four new models before this
time next year. Popham’s
personal favourite is the
116 Yacht – ‘big enough to
have 10 people and the crew
onboard and not be on top
of each other, with the right
balance of size and looks’.
To get to know the product,
Popham occasionally goes out on the water to
experience sea trials of new yachts that have
been completed for customers. But although
he has a Level 2 powerboat licence, he admits
‘there is always a bit of trepidation when you
are helming a multi-million pound yacht’.
Popham has been advised on his finances
by Midlands-based St. James’s Place Partner
Derek Mills since 1993.‘I was introduced
to Derek by a mutual associate, and we’re
the same age and share similar values,’ says
Popham.‘He has advised me on investment,
company pensions and taxation. Now I’m
aiming to buy a Sunseeker for when I retire.’
