Our Leadership Team

Get to know our leadership team and what drives their passion for creating elevated experiences on the road and on the water.

Brett Dibkey

President Navico Group

Brett Dibkey

Marty Bass

President Market Operations, Americas

Marty Bass

Ton De Winter

President Market Operations, EMEA

Ton De Winter

Jarrod Sagar

President Market Operations, APAC

Jarrod Sagar

Jeremiah Clark

VP & GM, Fishing Systems

Jeremiah Clark

Kevin Steinbraker

VP & GM, Digital Systems

Kevin Steinbraker

Patrick Roberts

VP & GM, Performance Components

Patrick Roberts

Dan Balogh

VP, Innovation & Product Development

Dan Balogh

Karly Ploederl

VP, Human Resources

Karly Maini

Sara Kagay

General Counsel

Sara Kagay

VP, IT

Kristen Bender

Chief Financial Officer

Brian Lockhart

VP, Marketing

Nancy Bernacchi

Director of Strategy & Business Development

Marikate Langan

Brett Dibkey

President Navico Group

Brett Dibkey

Recent Experience: VP & GM, Brand Marketing and Integrated Business Units, Whirlpool Corporation


Career Highlights: Brett has extensive experience in driving digital transformation of large enterprises with a 15-year track record managing full scope P&Ls to deliver business growth and margin expansion. He has led strategy and launched direct-to-consumer capability on KitchenAid.com, Whirlpool.com and Maytag.com, in which Maytag scaled to a $100M channel in year two of his leadership. Brett has also launched Whirlpool’s IoT platform and led the transformation of Whirlpool’s brand marketing across traditional (print & TV) and digital channels. He has overseen M&A transactions for Pfizer, Whirlpool and Brunswick and has a reputation for building engaged, high-performing teams.

Outside of work you can find me… On the water, boating with my family.

The best part of working at Navico Group is… The opportunity to work with a team of very talented people that are passionate about improving consumer (boater, RVer, etc.) experience. I am inspired and learn something new every day from the people of Navico Group.

What is the most exciting trend happening in our industry?
What’s not exciting?! Everything from electrification, to autonomy, to connectivity (IoT) is happening in our industry—all at once! And we are not just participating in these trends, we are driving them!

Marty Bass

President Market Operations, Americas

Marty Bass

Recent Experience: President, America’s Market Operations


Career Highlights: Marty held various leadership positions with Mercury Maine for over 15 years, including five years as VP of Global Product Category Management, five years President of Europe, Middle East and Africa. Prior to Mercury, Marty served as an officer in the US Navy for over five years, working on engineering design teams for nuclear power plants on submarines and aircraft carriers.

What excites you about the future of Navico Group? Breadth of fantastic product technology and the potential to provide so much value to customers through OEM integration services in addition to having the best team in the industries we participate in.


What is the most exciting trend happening in our industry? The product trends Navico Group will be driving are the most exciting—digital systems integrations, connectivity, automation and electrification.

Ton De Winter

President Market Operations, EMEA

Ton De Winter

Career Highlights: Ton spent 9 years with PWC as a CPA and held several finance and management roles at international companies (o.a. with Tyco /Johnson Controls) and Private Equity (Vision Capital).


What inspires you? The development of young people, eager to step up, speak out and to take challenges on.


What is the most exciting trend happening in our industry?
The boating industry is finally becoming aware of the fact that the electrification is inevitable.

Jarrod Sagar

President Market Operations, APAC

Jarrod Sagar

Recent Experience:  Business Leader for ASG APAC


Career Highlights: Jarrod spent 5 years as a Product Development Manager and nearly a decade as a Business Leader, dedicated to developing the CZone brand.

Outside of work you can find me… On or in the water. My passion is boating.

What excites you about the future of Navico Group? We have the opportunity to redefine the industry with our technologies and product lines. We can deliver our end customers an exceptional experience.

 

What inspires you? Finding a solution to a problem, whether it is an improvement to our process or delivering a new product or feature that makes life easier for our customers.

Eric Linquist

VP & GM, Power Systems

Eric Lindquist

Recent Experience: COO Relion Battery


Career Highlights: Eric held executive leadership roles (CEO, COO, GM) with industry leading manufacturers, marketers and distributors within the sports & recreation (Wilson Sporting Goods & Nike), power sports (Polaris) and building material (EDCO Products) industries. He also led the start-up venture in Bio-Specialty Chemicals.

What excites you about the future of Navico Group? The opportunity to lead the transformation to alternative power source systems across a multitude of industries.

 

What inspires you? The opportunity to take our company and customers someplace new. I am driven to make Brunswick more than a marine company.

Jermiah Clark

VP & GM, Fishing Systems

Jeremiah Clark

Recent Experience: Executive Vice President, Lowrance

 

Career Highlights: Jeremiah has a long history of making products that anglers use to be more successful on the water, as well as diverse experience in service, sales, product management and brand/portfolio management.

 

What excites you about the future of Navico Group? The addition of so much diverse talent around the globe that we can leverage to build even better consumer experiences than we could have in the past.

 

What inspires you? The creativity in finding solutions to customer needs and providing our customers the best possible experience on the water that they can have.

 

What is the most exciting trend happening in our industry? The advancement in sonar provides newer and easier to interpret ways to see and understand the underwater environment.

Kevin Steinbraker

President Navico Group

Kevin Steinbraker

Recent Experience: VP Global Category & Product Management


Career Highlights: Kevin held the position of Director of Global Connected Product Strategy at Whirlpool Corporation, leading the product and category business teams.

Outside of work you can find me… At the beach, on the water, enjoying time with family or working with my hands.


What excites you about the future of Navico Group?
The opportunity to create and provide the best experiences for our customers and consumers.



The best part of working at Navico Group is… Our aspirations and capabilities to solve fun problems.

Patrick Roberts

VP & GM, Performance Components

Patrick Roberts

Recent Experience: Managing Director, Whale and Operations Director, ASG


Career Highlights: Patrick fully integrated the business from privately owned to a subsidiary of a Public Company and exceeded earnings growth against a stretching acquisition model. He championed the Lean Six Sigma program which has delivered millions in hard savings and accelerated NPD improving NPD Vitality index from 9% to 30%. He has led operations when the company was recognized with the Northern Ireland Quality Award and the Brunswick Chairman’s award for health and safety excellence. He also led operations when the company was recognised for 5 consecutive years as Sunday Times top 100 companies to work for in the UK.

Outside of work you can find me… In the West of Ireland fly fishing with my son at one of the many mountain loughs.


What excites you about the future of Navico Group? To be part of the world’s leading onboard and off board integrated systems provider. No one is better positioned to redefine the industry and deliver innovative solutions that will transform the user experience.

Dan Balogh

VP, Innovation & Product Development

Dan Balogh

Recent Experience: Engineering for ASG, Americas


Career Highlights: Dan spent 5 years as the Director of Engineering and 5 years as an Advanced Engineering Leader at Mercury.

Outside of work you can find me… Collecting comics or hiking in backcountry.

The best part of working at Navico Group is… Our incredibly dedicated and talented team.

What is the most exciting trend happening in our industry? The focus on improving our environment and sustainability.

Karly Ploederl

VP, Human Resources

Karly Maini

Recent Experience: Director of HR, Mercury Marine supporting Engineering and Mercury Racing


Career Highlights: Karly worked with Oshkosh Corp in Human Resources supporting various functions of the business globally.


What excites you about the future of Navico Group? Navico Group is made up of extremely talented team members with a desire to do amazing work. I learn something new everyday with this team!


The best part of working at Navico Group is… Our ability to adapt and change in a complex environment and continue having fun doing it!

What is the most exciting trend happening in our industry? I’m so excited to see the growth in the market demonstrating that our products are at the center of a lifestyle choice made by many in the recent years.

VP, IT

Kristen Bender

Recent Experience: Director, Business Alignment


Career Highlights: Kristen has spent much of her career focusing on her passion, system optimization for Supply Chain and Operations and had a strong focus on ERP Transformation.

 

Outside of work you can find me: On or near the water, competitively playing tennis and absolutely anything outdoors!


What excites you about the future of Navico Group? The opportunity to bring together a diverse, talented group of professionals who will transform our technology landscape to enable a simplified experience for our customers.


The best part of working at Navico Group is: Our team, hands down.  We have an extremely capable and passionate group of individuals here at the Navico Group that I’m so proud to embark on the journey to making our division the leading provider of experiences on and off the water.

 

What is the most exciting trend happening in our industry? The ability that we have to create new and innovative products that are streamlined into a cohesive ecosystem.

Sara Kagay

General Counsel

Sara Kagay

Recent Experience: Deputy General Counsel for Brunswick


Career Highlights: Sara spent 10 years as a legal associate at law firms in Kansas City, MO and Chicago, IL prior to joining Brunswick in 2010.

Outside of work you can find me… Spending time with my kids—especially outdoors.


What excites you about the future of Navico Group? Bringing together different teams of extremely talented people.


What is the most exciting trend happening in our industry? The increasing percentages of women and minority boaters.

Chief Financial Officer

Brian Lockhart

Recent Experience: CFO, Sea Ray Boats 

 

Career Highlights: Brian has held multiple roles within Brunswick Corporation, starting out in the M&A group and later joining Brunswick Boat Group where he held lead accounting and finance roles for various aluminium and fiberglass boat brands.  Prior to Brunswick, Brian worked for Ernst & Young as a CPA in their transaction advisory practice. 

 

Outside of work you can find me: Outside of work you can find me out on the water enjoying the boating lifestyle (under power or sail). 

 

What excites you about the future of Navico Group? It is always exciting to see the next generation of marine/mobile technology come to life through our talented product and R&D teams.  Whether you are fishing, sailing or just hanging out in the cove, our products will continue to enhance the moments we spend with friends and family on the water. 

 

The best part of working at Navico Group is: The ability to work with talented team to support leading brands in the marine and mobile industries. 

 

What is the most exciting trend happening in our industry? It is great to see the use of technology as an enabler to allow more people to confidently and safely enjoy the boating lifestyle. 

VP, Marketing

Nancy Bernacchi

Recent Experience: Sr. Brand Director, Affirm

 

Career Highlights: Nancy built her career at creative agencies, including BBDO, 180LA and DDB partnering with brand and marketing teams across many industries – CPG, OLTA, Consumer Electronics, Retail. She took that experience to Dyson, where she built and led the Americas Commercial Center of Excellence, acting as a change agent to reinvent Dyson’s GTM strategy for the region, while influencing change around the globe. She took these tools to Affirm, where she drove operational change and elevated the brand output. She’s just as passionate to develop strategy as she is to drive operational optimization and is bringing both to our global marketing organization.

 

Outside of work you can find me: Either on a trip to somewhere new or planning my next trip!

 

What excites you about the future of Navico Group? Consumers expect intuitive design in everything – marine and RV are no exception. I’m excited that we’re able to innovate and deliver products that meet their expectations and surprise them by delivering on benefits they don’t even know to ask for yet.  

 

The best part of working at Navico Group is: Being able to drive marketing transformation at a company that is leading transformation of an entire industry. And the boating metaphors.  

 

What is the most exciting trend happening in our industry? I love that more people are choosing experiences over stuff, and seeing more people get on the water and on the road is exciting!

Director of Strategy & Business Development

Marikate Langan

Recent Experience: Director Strategy & Business Development, ASG 

 

Career Highlights: Marikate has spent her career unlocking the profit potential of organizations through strategic scaling and business transformation. For nearly a decade she established and led Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants’ growth, opening over 25 business units across the US. In later years, she partnered with organizations ranging from early-stage startups to large multi-nationals as a management consultant.  She led client organizations through a variety of strategy realization engagements such as targeted market entry campaigns, operating model transformations, IT modernizations, and post-merger integrations. 

 

Outside of work you can find me: Exploring a new place, hiking any mountain I can find or sitting around a table swapping stories with friends. 

 

What excites you about the future of Navico Group? Transforming the experiences and expectations of our customers and consumers by realizing the vision of Navico Group.  We are bringing together the most comprehensive bow to stern portfolio in the world. 

 

The best part of working at Navico Group is: Working with a team of incredibly talented and passionate people.  

 

What is the most exciting trend happening in our industry? Rapid industry transformation. Our centuries-old industry is evolving at a pace we have never seen before. Everything from shifts in consumer demographics to the emergence of disruptive technology are changing how we work and what we work on. Every day is an opportunity to challenge paradigms and relentlessly drive our team forward to explore the bounds of what is possible. 

 

About Navico Group

We bring together the world-class brands, products and people to create groundbreaking innovations that reinvent the user experience from Marine & RV to Specialty Vehicles and beyond.