Bass Pro Shops appointed Les Crawford as the new president of White River Marine Group, which until now was known as Tracker Marine.
The new role brings Crawford back to the company, where he previously served as both controller for Bass Pro Shops and executive vice president at Tracker Marine for a decade beginning in 1984. Today the White River Marine Group offers an collection of industry-leading brands including Tracker Boats, Sun Tracker, Nitro, Tahoe. Regency, Mako, Ranger, Triton Stratos and Ascend, and is the largest manufacturer of boats in the world by volume.
“We are very excited and proud to welcome back Les to lead our thriving marine manufacturing division at an exciting time in our history,” said Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO Johnny Morris. “In addition to his familiarity with our brands and widespread respect within the industry, Les understands how vitally important the independent dealers are to the future of these brands and our company overall, making him uniquely qualified to lead White River Marine Group boldly forward into the future.”
Crawford has had a distinguished career within the marine industry. In addition to his time at Bass Pro and Tracker Marine, he served as Division Vice President at Genmar Industries, leading the company’s freshwater boat brands before later becoming President of its Wellcraft Marine Group. Most recently, Crawford served as President of Lowe Boats in Lebanon, Missouri, overseeing all aspects of the operation comprising manufacturing, marketing and dealer relations including Cabela’s.
“I’m thrilled to be rejoining the Bass Pro family to lead the world-class team at White River Marine Group, which in many ways feels like coming home,” said Crawford. “White River Marine’s leading brands are unparalleled in the industry and I look forward to fostering their longstanding reputation for performance, innovation, service and value.”
Crawford was born and raised in Mountain Home, Arkansas, just 15 minutes from the Ranger Boats headquarters in Flippin. He has a long-held appreciation for the Ozarks and its array of quality fishing amenities, including the White River for which White River Marine Group is named.
Crawford’s appointment offers Bass Pro Shops President and COO Jim Hagale the opportunity to focus primarily on the company’s retail division and integration with Cabela’s to unite two leading outdoor retail operations. The acquisition is anticipated to receive final regulatory approval in the third quarter of 2017. Both Crawford and Hagale will report to founder/CEO Johnny Morris.
Photo courtesy Bass Pro
