GLOBAL: Ayrton has announced a series of senior leadership appointments as the company strengthens its executive team to support its next phase of global growth while maintaining its focus on product innovation and international expansion.

Leading the changes is the appointment of Michael Althaus as Chief Executive Officer. Having assumed the role in September 2025, Althaus steps up from his previous position as Global Sales Director, a role he held since 2017, during which he played a key role in expanding Ayrton’s global market presence.

“It’s a great honour to step into the role of CEO at such an important moment in Ayrton’s journey,” said Althaus. “Knowing Ayrton now for 25 years and having grown with this company over more than a decade, I’ve seen first-hand what makes Ayrton exceptional—the passion of our people, the strength of our culture and our relentless drive for innovation. My focus will be on building on this legacy while shaping the next chapter of growth together with our teams and partners worldwide.”

As part of the restructuring, Massimo Bolandrina has been appointed Global Sales Director after joining Ayrton from Claypaky, where he spent 15 years in senior sales positions. Matt Hallard‘s responsibilities have also been expanded, with his role as European Sales Director now extending across Europe and North Africa. Supporting this regional growth, Koen Ceulemans joined the company as European Sales Manager in January 2026.

The leadership changes also reinforce Ayrton’s continued emphasis on research and development. Founder and Chief Technology Officer Yvan Peard remains responsible for product innovation, continuing to lead the company’s engineering efforts, most recently with the development of the RAWBEAM 350 moving head fixture.

Meanwhile, Christopher Agius Ferrante, who has served as Ayrton’s CEO since 2017, has transitioned to lead Golden Sea Holdings, the organisation overseeing Golden Sea’s international brand portfolio. In his new role, Ferrante will focus on strategic planning and strengthening integration across the group’s global operations.

“This is an enormously exciting time at Golden Sea and Ayrton,” commented Ferrante. “I’ve loved being part of the daily fabric at Ayrton. While I’ll certainly miss that, it’s essential we implement a structure capable of delivering strategic planning, seamless integration with our mother company and results through the collective strengths of the group. This new structure will make that possible.”

Joining Ferrante at Golden Sea Holdings are Chunyan Hou as Integration and Legal Director, Xulin Liang as Corporate Strategy & Operations Specialist, and Muzi Lui as ESG Analyst, further strengthening the group’s strategic and organisational capabilities as it supports the continued development of its international brands.