JAMES TOMLINSON
Technology
Back to what they love As Doyle Sails joins NTG its directors are refocused on sailmaking and sailing
With Doyle Sails’ realignment within the North Technology Group (NTG) of companies now approaching its first anniversary, the benefits are manifesting themselves across a number of key areas. For the company – and for the
wider market – the most important aspect of the new arrangement is that the benefits have not come at a cost to the Doyle Sails identity, values and essential DNA. When the deal was finalised last
year, NTG and its three sailmaking brands – North Sails, Quantum and Doyle Sails – made an absolute commitment to retaining competition and brand separation between the rival companies. ‘That is vital,’ Doyle Sails president Mike Sanderson insists. ‘There can be no question about relaxing and getting complacent under this new structure. We all need to keep the market competitive, continue the brands pushing each other to improve their products and customer service, while in the background they can become more efficient through scale and synergies.’ After the Christmas break, the Doyle Sails leadership team spent
64 SEAHORSE
time taking stock of its DNA and recommitting to preserving it into the future. ‘We looked at what was unique about us, what we had done well in the past and what was of value to our clients and their programmes,’ says Sanderson. ‘We are determined to ensure that none of that gets diluted.’ If anything, being relieved of
much of the business management burden has allowed the three previous owners – Sanderson, David Duff and Richard Bouzaid – to refocus their energies back to their core business and strengths. ‘The biggest change under the
NTG umbrella and the aspect that is themost exciting is that the three of us have been able to go back to driving innovation, relentless product development,making fast sails for our clients and participating in top level race programmes,’ says Sanderson. ‘For me especially, far too much
time under the previous structure was being devoted to lease contracts, bank covenants, guarantors and things that I was never an expert at. I enjoyed learning about all those elements, but there are way smarter people than me at taking care of the business and
Above: the 42ft Callisto is the smaller boat in the New Zealand Admiral’s Cup team for 2025 – and with Doyle Sails’ CEO Mike Sanderson joining the crew, fully optimised sailpower is assured
management side. ‘When I started at Doyle Sails in
2012,’ he continues, ‘my focus on developing the product and the brand was 100 per cent. In the lead- up to this new relationship with NTG, that focus had dropped to about 40 per cent, whichmeans 60 per cent ofmy energy was taken up with things I was never really an expert at. ‘This new arrangement frees me
and the other former owners to do the stuff we all enjoy, which is making boats go faster, helping programmes achieve better results and constantly developing our products. ‘Fromthat point of view, it has
been an absolute game changer. Just the fact that we can fully concentrate 100 per cent on the things we are actually good at is huge for Doyle Sails and for our customers.’ Between a broken hip and the
above-mentioned distraction of running a growing company, Sanderson’s grand prix sailing through most of last year was significantly reduced. Now, fully fit and liberated from much of the day-to-day management, he is raring to go with a busy slate of racing commitments through the northern
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