Doyle Sails says sail design and software development around new and existing sailing technologies has always been at the core of their operation. Now, the company’s central design team has been furthered strengthened with the appointment of Andrew Lechte.
Over his long career, working as a sail designer for North Sails on some of their highest profile projects, Lechte's name will be deservedly familiar to many in the sailing industry. Coupled with his work as a sail designer, Lechte has led the logistics on several Olympic, Volvo Ocean Race and America’s Cup campaigns. Currently, Lechte is the Technical Advisor for Australia Sailing, collecting performance data on Olympic class yachts and advising on technical projects.
Andrew comments, “I have been involved in some amazing and exciting sail design projects over the years and have been watching the Doyle Sails business grow in profile and technical excellence. One of my core skills is rig and sail modelling and with my previous work, the software simply could not model some critical features of both modern and traditional rigs. I was hugely impressed with Doyle’s sail design software and tools. It’s a lot more sophisticated and dynamic than any other program I’ve worked with before. Some of the new product developments and new projects Doyle is involved with have drawn me into joining this ambitious brand and I am looking forward to being part of the winning Doyle Sails team.”
Richard Bouzaid, Doyle Sails Design Director, adds his thoughts to today's announcement: “Andrew’s experience in the sport's premier events such as Americas Cup, Volvo, Olympic classes and Grand Prix sailing at the elite levels will play a key role in what we can offer to customers and the ongoing innovation and development of our team. Having spent just a few days with Andrew at our Auckland loft, I can already see what a great addition he will be.”
Mike Sanderson, Doyle Sails CEO, says, “We are delighted to welcome Andrew onboard as part of the expansion of our Global Design Team. I’ve known Andrew for many years – since working together back in the 80’s. Andrew brings an immense amount of knowledge and incredible technical skills which he will be able to advance to the next level with our Doyle Sails design and engineering software.”
To contact Andrew Lechte: andrew.lechte@doylesails.com
