GEORGE BOWLES
Head of Design , Scanstrut
What was your first job ?
I was a gardener as a teenager , but I would say my first proper job was as a windsurfing coach . Did you have any key mentors or influences in your career ? Going for my interview at Lewmar in 2011 was the first time I met their new Head of Design – Nigel Smith . Since then , he ’ s always been on hand with advice and it came full circle when we worked together at Scanstrut 2022 / 23 , which was awesome . Jeff Knapman taught me masses when I started at Scanstrut as a fresh-faced graduate in 2014 , he was great to work with . Finally , of course Tom our CEO , he ’ s given me so much advice and opportunities which I ’ m very grateful for . How do you hope to inspire others in the marine industry ? Through the products , I hope if a young designer was to use our products they might think working in the marine industry would be a cool sector to go into . How do you set goals for yourself and set yourself up for success ? New product development timelines . They are incredibly hard to stick to when working with lots of unknowns , but help keep everyone focused on delivering the best possible product in a reasonable timeframe . Why should young professionals choose a career in the marine industry ? As a young designer it generally means you will be working on products for a global market which can be more interesting , the wide variety of materials and processes keeps it interesting . Everyone ’ s favorite day is going out on the water product testing in a RIB at Exmouth !
JAKE CARTER
Production Manager , Malibu Boats
What first drew you to the marine industry ? From a young age , I have always had a fascination with boats . Being on the water has always been a joy of mine . I vividly remember going fishing as child and being intrigued by all the different vessels around us .
Did you have any key mentors or influences in your career ? I have many mentors and influences in my career . Many of those I still work with . Jack Springer , Ritchie Anderson , Donna Tallent ,
Debbie Kent , and Lynn Little are a couple of the ones who have impacted me the most ! As a young professional , what are the biggest challenges you ’ ve faced in the marine industry and how did you overcome them ? One of the biggest challenges I have faced is the evolving workforce and learning which leadership style they respond to the best and being able to adjust to those accordingly . This adjustment involves investing time to understand their personalities and discerning what matters most to my team . How do you set goals for yourself and set yourself up for success ? I set small goals which are obtained easily and larger goals that push me daily . I ’ ve learned that it ’ s okay to not always obtain your goals if you have pushed yourself and learn from the lessons it had to offer .
Count on the naval architects and marine engineers of BMD to engineer your production FRP vessel for the sea , with all engineering functions under one roof for the best boat line .
Contact BMD to discuss your next FRP project .
BMDINC . COM
Congratulations , Jack Becker !
BMD ’ s 40 under 40 winner and FRP engineering specialist for boatbuilding .
www . boatingindustry . com march 2024
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