DOUG SPARKS
OFFSHORE SAILING SCHOOL CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
A passionate sailor and business executive, Doug Sparks has more than 12 years of experience in all areas of maritime management, including operations, finance, crewing, marketing and sales.
Doug joined the Offshore team in 2005 as Southern Regional Manager, quickly rising to the position of Chief Operating Officer. As COO, he oversees all Offshore locations and works closely with the sales team and sailing instruction faculty to maintain company standards, goals and consistency for its customers. Doug also works directly with Steve and Doris Colgate on strategic partnerships and company expansion.
He is responsible for introducing the Colgates to the Center for Creative Leadership, which resulted in a long-term agreement to produce leadership development programs with sailing as the centerpiece. He also forged relationships with the Wharton Business School and inclusion in Wharton Leadership Ventures, Emory University’s Goizueta Business School for a Caribbean Sailing Challenge, University of Tampa's John H. Sykes College of Business Center for Leadership.
Prior to joining Offshore Sailing School, Doug was executive vice president of Tampa, Florida-based shipping company, Maritrans Operating Co., where he developed and implemented organizational design for the company, meeting the operational requirements of the fleet and strategic goals of the company. Prior to that, he served in a variety of management positions at Seabulk Offshore, LTD, including operations manager, international crewing manager, Near East manager and Western Hemisphere marketing manager.
A lifelong sailor and sportsman, Doug spends his free time sailing, cruising, racing and is an avid fisherman. His first boat was a 14-foot Laser – at age 11. He cruised and raced his own Frers 44 while stationed in the Persian Gulf and owned a Hans Christian 38 that he cruised in the Caribbean. His extensive sailing resume covers the waters surrounding Florida, Texas, the Middle and Far East, Aegean Sea and Caribbean. At left he is in Tahiti, where he led the 2007 Offshore Cruising Club cruise.
A United States Coast Guard Licensed Captain, Doug holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Economics from Texas Tech University and completed business and leadership course work at Harvard, MIT, Villanova and the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina.
He is a member of the American Quality Practitioners, International Society for Process Improvement, Propeller Club of the United States, US SAILING and a founding member of the Port Tampa Maritime Industry Association.
Doug resides in Ft. Myers, Florida with his wife and young son. To talk to Doug please call 888-454-7015, 239-985-7539 (direct line) or just click here.