However that wouldn’t happen for a while as worked his way through a variety of roles, including production quality assurance manager while also picking-up an MBA. Eventually he was appointed as operations manager for golf gloves for one of the world’s leading golf apparel and equipment companies.
During that time he’d often travelled to Asia to approve new factories, and when the company decided to cut production at its Korean operations, Mark saw an opportunity to replace the lost orders.
We had started sourcing product in Indonesia and that’s how I began my own business in Indonesia in 1992,” he says. “I had an acquaintance who was friends with the president of the Wilson brand, and he pulled that client in for me. In our first year we had a $10 million turnover.”
Now there are 4,300 employees at four factories which churn out just about every type of glove, from fitness, to stylish casual dress to specialist military and police hand protection. Turnover has tripled to $30 million per year.
He expresses a desire “to still be on the factory floor at 80”, though at 57 he would seem to have a while to bed down the succession plan. Mark’s son Christopher is very much part of the business, while his daughter Courtney is operations manger of the Dunia Baru.
“My hope is to spend three months a year on the boat, there’s all of Indonesia to see,” he enthuses. “We just finished a trip from Bali to Langkawi, Phuket up into Myanmar. The islands off Koh Phi Phi, the big cliffs they’re as beautiful as anywhere in the world. We’re about to do a trip from Malmurai half way down the northern coast of Flores, we’re going to go east to Alor and the Forgotten Islands. Indonesia has a surfeit of beautiful places.”
Guests also have the opportunity to sample the unique cruising experiences aboard this Phinisi style yacht, which is a melding of Indonesian boat building craft and western technology. Accommodation is seven staterooms, the master cabin has a king-sized bed has a private bridge deck with double sun or daybed and sofa and windows all around.
The crew of 18 includes a dive instructor, a Western chef, an Indonesian Chef and a western systems engineer. There’s a full complement of toys such as a 6.8 metre RIB, jet-skis, kayaks, paddle boards, full sets of dive-gear, and of course a Sunfish sailing dinghy.
As the boat is often sailing in remote pristine waters, there’s a serious effort to minimize her environmental wake.
Four cycle outboards are used in order to reduce emissions. There’s a very rigid protocol on trash recycling. All cans and bottles are recycled, while paper and plastics for food waste are separated for future disposal. There are large capacity gray and black water tanks for discharge in only permissible areas.
There’s also a spirit of discovery and exploration you can’t help being swept along by.
“What I’ve always told my kids and what I’ve always tried to live by is you should never go on a vacation,” Mark says. “What you should always do is have an adventure. In a true adventure you’ll have all the emotions, sometimes you will be frustrated, sometimes you are going to be upset, but mostly it will be wonderful.”
So perhaps the only thing you can expect is to have your assumptions and preconceptions erased and replaced by a rich collection of experiences.
www.duniabaru.com