Christiansen Joining Mastercraft
The former president of Cigarette Racing Team and general manager of Mercury Racing prior to joining the famed high-performance sportboat and center console company, Erik Christiansen is now the vice-president of engineering at Mastercraft, a towed-mastersports boat-builder in Vonore, Tenn. Christiansen, who currently lives in the Miami-Dade County, will soon move to the area.
An engineer from Wisconsin with a master’s degree in business administration from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University, Christiansen joined Opa-Locka, Fla.-based Cigarette Racing Team in 2019—the company’s 50th anniversary year—under then owner Skip Braver.
An engineer by trade, Erik Christiansen (far right) was the general of Mercury Racing for five years before joining Cigarette Racing Team.
Fred Kiekhaefer, the former president of Mercury Racing, personally groomed Christiansen for this role at the Fond du Lac, Wis., company before his own departure in 2012. A Mercury Racing engineer for 21 years, Christiansen was named Mercury Racing’s general manager the following year.
Christiansen joined the Opa-Locka, Fla.-based Cigarette Racing Team in 2019—the company’s 50th anniversary year—under then-owner Skip Braver.
Cigarette Racing Team introduced several models including the 59 Tirranna while Christiansen was president of the company.
As a Mercury Marine engineer integral to the development of the first Verado outboard engine unveiled in 2004, Christiansen spent his lunches sketching designs for a new stern-drive engine on napkins. Those doodles were the basis for what would become the first Mercury Racing quad-cam four-valve (QC4v) turbocharged engine, which was unveiled in 2010 in 1,350-hp form. A few years after the Verado debut, Christiansen transferred to Mercury Racing.
Cigarette Racing Team models introduced during Christiansen’s tenure with the company included the 59 Tirranna, 42 Auroris, 42 Nighthawk and 52 Thunder center consoles as well as the 515 sportboat.
Marine industry great Fred Kiekhaefer (left) groomed Christiansen for his role at Mercury Racing.
Christiansen could not be reached for comment. Neither Cigarette Racing Team nor Mastercraft. had responded to requests for comment when this story went live.
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