Amidst one of the most challenging years for the marine and boating sector, Brunswick Corporation has made the following changes to its organization to broaden the experience of its senior leadership team.
Aine Denari has been named EVP and president, Navico Group, and Brunswick chief technology officer. Denari was previously president of Brunswick Boat Group, a role she assumed in October 2020. Boat Group reportedly achieved trong operational and financial performance during her tenure and successfully navigated dynamic market conditions.
“In her new and expanded role, Denari will lead the next phase of the evolution of the Navico Group and be responsible for Brunswick’s technology strategy and advanced development activities, including maintaining the leadership of autonomy programs and assuming responsibility for the Boating Intelligence DesignLab at the University of Illinois,” the company noted.
Brenna Preisser has been named EVP and president of the Brunswick Boat Group, succeeding Denari. Since January 2019, Preisser has been EVP and president of Business Acceleration, the division housing Freedom Boat Club, Boateka and Brunswick’s financial services and related businesses. The company said Preisser successfully led the acquisition and expansion of Freedom Boat Club from 170 to 410 locations worldwide and created Boateka, Brunswick’s pre-owned boat sales platform.
“Preisser has held a number of executive positions at Brunswick over the past 20 years, including chief human resources officer and chief strategy officer. She will now be responsible for Brunswick’s portfolio of 18 leading boat brands, including Boston Whaler, Sea Ray, Bayliner, Lund, Harris, Quicksilver, and Princecraft,” the company outlined.
Will Sangster has been promoted to SVP and president of Business Acceleration, succeeding Preisser. Sangster is responsible for the portfolio’s continued growth within the Business Acceleration division. The company said Sangster was, most recently, president of Mercury Marine in EMEA, a position he assumed in October 2021 and, before that, he spent 14 years with Brunswick in a various international leadership roles, including as the head of Mercury Marine’s ANZP region.
“Sangster’s operational and international experience will be extremely valuable as Freedom Boat Club grows in international markets and further optimizes its operating model,” the company highlighted in its statement.
“Brunswick is fortunate to have an extraordinarily talented leadership team and a deep bench. Aine, Brenna and Will have a proven track record of success in many previous positions, and I’m proud and excited to see them all take on new and expanded responsibilities,” said Dave Foulkes, CEO of Brunswick Corporation. “These moves follow the recent expansion of the role of Ryan Gwillim, Brunswick’s CFO, to include chief strategy officer. Our talent remains a major competitive advantage and our talent development strategy includes broadening the scope and experience of our highest potential leaders at all levels of the company.”
Denari, Preisser and Sangster will assume their new roles immediately. Brett Dibkey, who preceded Denari as president of Navico Group, will leave the company at the end of August after assisting with the transition.
“We thank Brett for his leadership and many contributions to successfully integrating and restructuring the Navico Group businesses in challenging market conditions and wish him every success in his future endeavors,” the company concluded in its release.
Images courtesy Brunswick Corporation
