Watson Joins Hatteras Yachts as COO

Hatteras/Cabo Yachts, LLC has welcomed Wade Watson to the company. He has joined the company as chief operating officer, reporting directly to Hatteras President and CEO, John Ward.

Wade will oversee daily operations at Hatteras’ manufacturing plant in New Bern, NC, with a focus on improving manufacturing operations.  With more than 20 years of manufacturing, after market, quality control and management experience, Wade has a proven track record in achieving significant improvements in manufacturing efficiencies and product quality.
 
Wade Watson 2Wade’s previous experience includes several years working for Volvo AB, most recently as vice president and general manager of its Mack Trucks division. Prior to that, he served as vice president of operations of Volvo Powertrain – North America, where he previously had served as vice president of quality and customer satisfaction. 
 
Wade said joining Hatteras brings together two of his lifelong passions – the pursuit of excellence and a love of boating.
 
“I am extremely excited to join the Hatteras Team in New Bern,” he said. “I spent most of my formative years in Florida living on the Gulf Coast and have been on or around boats for much of my life. My professional life has been mainly driven by leading complex operations on journeys to operational excellence.”
 
One of Wade’s first goals at Hatteras is to improve operating efficiencies through systematic waste elimination, as well as building upon the strengths of Hatteras’ talented workforce to shorten lead-times from order to delivery.
 
“My experience as an operations leader within the global automotive sector has afforded me the opportunity to learn best practices from all over the world,” he said. “The combination of the time-tested craftsmanship for Hatteras with the latest operations/manufacturing techniques should prove to be an unbeatable combination. It is a real honor to be a part of such an iconic brand at such an exciting moment in its history.”
 
“We are excited to have Wade on our management team,” said Ward. “His dedication to operational excellence, combined with his love of boating, will serve us well. I look forward to continued growth at Hatteras with him by my side.”