Prominent Boat Industry Veteran Joins Challenger Powerboats' Newly Formed Executive Advisory Committee
New committee member, Mike Phillips, has been instrumental in building three start-up boat manufacturers to worldwide prominence
WASHINGTON, Mo., Nov 06, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Challenger Powerboats, Inc. ("Challenger") (OTC Bulletin Board: CPBI) today announced that it has created an Executive Advisory Committee to assist its management team in the Company's expansion phase and the introduction of its soon to be introduced Pininfarina powerboat. The Executive Advisory Committee currently consists of three seasoned professionals, including Michael Phillips, a renowned powerboat industry authority who was instrumental in the creation and success of three prominent boat companies, Crownline Boats, Mariah Boats, and Celebrity Boats.
Mr. Phillips entered the boat manufacturing industry approximately 25 years ago when he joined Celebrity Boats, then a three year old company. During his six-year tenure with Celebrity, the company grew from a $9 million in revenue to $70 million, producing 6,000 boats, annually. He joined start-up boat manufacturer, Mariah Boats, in its third month of operations, and during its first years he focused on product design and engineering, marketing strategy and sales distribution. During Mariah's first year of operation, it shipped 600 boats to 70 dealers. Recognizing a similar opportunity, Mr. Phillips joined colleagues to found Crownline Boats. He authored the company's five year strategic plan and, over a ten year period, he was instrumental in developing Crownline into one of the largest powerboat manufacturers in the world, building and distributing over 33,000 boats to 150 dealers in the United States, Canada, South America and Europe and generating over $618 million in sales.
Mr. Phillips has served as a board member for the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and for the National Association of Boat Manufacturers and was a sub-committee member of NMMA's Boat Show Committee. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Cumberland College (Williamsburg, KY) and earned his masters degree from Xavier University (Xavier, OH).
Commenting on Michael Phillips' appointment and the formation of the committee, Challenger's president and CEO, Laurie Phillips (no relation to Michael Phillips), said, "Challenger is undergoing an impressive growth period, even though industry sales in general have moderated. The dealer meeting held in September was highly successful. With the new Pininfarina line set for introduction in early 2008 and increased sales in all our boat lines, Challenger, Gekko and Sugar Sand, the company's Board of Directors felt the addition of an Executive Advisory Committee would further ensure effective execution of our strategic plans."
Ms. Phillips concluded, "We are excited to include a boat industry executive with Mike Phillips' background on the committee. Mike has agreed to dedicate the time necessary at our plants in Washington, Missouri and Fargo, North Dakota to support our management team and assist in evaluating operations and strategic opportunities."
Michael Phillips added, "I first reviewed Challenger's operations over 18 months ago and recognized the quality and distinctive attributes of the boat line. The addition of Sugar Sand water jet powered boats and the well-known Gekko tow-boats made the business model even more compelling. I was delighted to be given the opportunity to again work with a boat company positioned to become a worldwide name in the boat industry, and look forward to working directly with Challenger's management team and its Board of Directors to realize the company's growth potential."
