Oliver “Oli” Dawson is the founder and CEO of Evolution Marine Manufacturing, based in Cape Town, South Africa. He has more than 30 years of experience in advanced composite manufacturing, production engineering and high-performance boatbuilding. His career has spanned the marine, aerospace, automotive and architectural sectors, including senior roles and consulting assignments with Robertson & Caine, Southern Wind Shipyard, AAT Composites and international boatbuilding operations in China, West Africa, Saudi Arabia and Antarctica. This broad experience has given him a practical understanding of how technology, production efficiency and skills development can be combined to build globally competitive products from Africa. Today, Oli leads a growing team delivering advanced composite sailing yachts, multihulls and commercial vessels for local and international clients. His focus is on developing scalable manufacturing systems without losing the craftsmanship, agility and attention to detail required in specialist boatbuilding. Oli is particularly interested in the role of lightweight composite structures, digital manufacturing, efficient production systems and alternative propulsion technologies in improving vessel performance, reducing operating costs and extending asset life. He believes Africa’s marine sector has an opportunity to move beyond simply following established markets by combining local capability and cost competitiveness with modern technology, responsible manufacturing and internationally relevant design. His perspective is grounded in the practical realities of investing in new technology, developing people, managing production risk and converting innovation into commercially viable vessels.