Malibu Boats said today that Paxson St. Clair is stepping down as president of Cobalt Boats and resigning as a board member for its parent company, Malibu Boats. Malibu acquired Pursuit in June 2017.
St. Clair will have a part-time role at Cobalt assisting with dealer development and sales strategy. A statement from Malibu said that St. Clair wanted to spend more time with his family.
“I am pleased that this new role will allow me to stay involved with the Cobalt brand and continue to work with the friends and business partners I have developed over the years,” said St. Clair in the statement. “It is the best of both worlds for me personally, more time with my family and my friends at Cobalt.”
“We are very happy that Paxson will now be able to realize his desired lifestyle while staying plugged into the company,” said Jack Springer, CEO of Malibu Boats, in the statement. “This has been a carefully planned transition, with Paxson’s full engagement, ensuring we have a smooth transition to the new President of Cobalt Boats, Shane Stanfill.”
Stanfill joined Malibu Boats two years ago and has been working with Cobalt in Neodesha, Kansas as vice president of operations. He has worked in the boating industry for 16 years. He worked for 14 years at Brunswick Corp., rising to the position of vice president and general manager.
Stanfill is already making “several important changes, including a significant factory expansion that will modernize and streamline Cobalt’s manufacturing process,” said the statement.
The parent company also announced that Chip Smith had joined Malibu Boats in the newly created role of vice president of marketing. Smith will be responsible for driving marketing strategy for the Malibu, Axis, Cobalt and Pursuit Brands. The statement noted that Smith has 30 years of B2B and B2C marketing experience and over 20 years of digital experience working for Fortune 500 and start-up companies.
