A 17-year career that began with commissioning yachts has taken Dean Ling to Fairline’s executive leadership team. His promotion to chief technical officer puts one of the British builder’s most experienced technical figures at the centre of its next phase of product development.
“To progress from joining Fairline as a commissioning engineer 17 years ago to becoming CTO is something I’m incredibly proud of,” says Ling.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with some very talented people, tackle some fascinating technical challenges and, importantly, spend a great deal of time with our customers and dealers around the world.”
From commissioning to complex global projects
During his Fairline career, Ling has completed more than 150 customer and dealer handovers and travelled internationally to assess newly appointed dealers, helping to ensure customers receive a consistently high standard of service and technical support across Fairline’s global network.
“That experience has given me a very clear understanding of what makes a Fairline special and where we can continue to push ourselves,” he continues.
“We have an enormous amount of knowledge and expertise within the business, and I’m looking forward to bringing that together as we develop our products, embrace new technology and continue to improve the experience we deliver for our customers.”
Ling joined Fairline as a commissioning engineer at its test centre in Ipswich and has since built extensive experience across the business, taking on increasing responsibility for quality control, warranty, commissioning and customisation.
Technology and quality at the heart of CTO role
His experience also includes leading a number of technically complex customisation projects. These have ranged from taking a factory team to Sydney, Australia, to install a stabiliser system, to managing the retrofit of a hardtop to a Fairline Squadron 78 in the South of France.
As CTO, Ling will provide technical leadership across Fairline’s yachts and major onboard systems, with responsibility for ensuring the business continues to adopt and develop the right technologies to support product performance, quality and the ownership experience.
Customer and dealer experience to shape product development
Working closely with Fairline’s customers, dealers and internal teams, he will also play an important role in translating feedback and emerging technology into future product development.
“Dean’s promotion is thoroughly deserved and reflects the depth of experience, technical expertise and understanding of Fairline,” says Oliver Southwell, CEO. “He knows our yachts, our dealers and, importantly, our customers exceptionally well, which makes him ideally placed to take on the role.
“Strong technical leadership is fundamental to where we want to take Fairline next. Dean combines an uncompromising commitment to quality with a very practical understanding of what our customers expect from us. I’m delighted to welcome him to the executive leadership team and look forward to the contribution he will make as we continue to develop the Fairline range.”
Appointment comes ahead of Targa 58 GTO debut
The appointment comes ahead of the Cannes Yachting Festival in September, where Fairline will stage the world premiere of the new Targa 58 GTO. As it approaches its 60th birthday, Fairline’s model range spans sports cruisers, flybridge yachts and long-range luxury motor yachts.
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