The boating industry is full of dedicated, talented leaders, and Boating Industry ' s Movers & Shakers program highlights those who push the boundaries. The 2026 winners have demonstrated how vision and determination can transform businesses for the better while turning bold ideas into reality.
These three trailblazers are making Bold Moves to propel the industry ahead. From working with local governments to embracing new technologies, they have shown unwavering commitment to creating meaningful progress. Boating Industry celebrates each of these leaders and the impact they make.
Senior Vice President Business Development, Northpoint Commercial Finance
President, Russell Marine
Co-founder and COO, LOOKOUT
2026
The boating industry is full of dedicated, talented leaders, and Boating Industry ' s Movers & Shakers program highlights those who push the boundaries. The 2026 winners have demonstrated how vision and determination can transform businesses for the better while turning bold ideas into reality.
These three trailblazers are making Bold Moves to propel the industry ahead. From working with local governments to embracing new technologies, they have shown unwavering commitment to creating meaningful progress. Boating Industry celebrates each of these leaders and the impact they make.
RUSSELL BAQIR
Senior Vice President Business Development, Northpoint Commercial Finance
Some of the best leaders are known for their ability to communicate and work side-by-side with their team. These are the features that Russell Baqir has showcased throughout his career, ultimately helping him earn the title of Senior Vice President of Business Development at Northpoint Commercial Finance.
Baqir demonstrates outstanding leadership at Northpoint through his ability to build high-performing teams, foster collaboration and drive strategic growth within the marine business segment. He leads by example, setting high standards for customer service, accountability and relationship management while empowering those around him to achieve their full potential.
Baqir is known for his hands-on leadership style and his willingness to mentor and support team members across the organization. He routinely shares his industry expertise, coaches colleagues on complex business opportunities and encourages innovative thinking to better serve customers and industry partners. His ability to align teams around common goals has helped strengthen internal collaboration and improve overall business performance. When mentoring others, Baqir has a few concrete tips he routinely offers.“ One, focus on serving others. Two, listen to what people are saying. It’ s so easy to get lost in your own thoughts thinking about a response or talking when you should be listening. Learning from someone by listening to them helps to understand their obstacles and challenges,” he advises.“ Three, think through situations. Don’ t just react in order to meet a deadline. Four, a good leader evolves in different situations. Change is constant. A strategy that worked today may be obsolete tomorrow.”
Baqir promotes positive leadership by fostering a culture of partnership, integrity and continuous improvement. His commitment to supporting both his team and the organization’ s goals has earned the respect of colleagues, customers and industry partners alike. Through his leadership, Baqir not only drives results but also helps develop the next generation of professionals within the company, creating a lasting impact both internally and throughout the recreational boating industry.
Baqir’ s leadership style extends beyond his team at Northpoint. He is also known for taking a consultative approach with customers, working closely with dealers and manufacturers to understand their unique challenges and identifying solutions that drive long-term success. His deep knowledge of the marine marketplace and financing landscape has helped businesses make informed decisions, adapt to evolving consumer demand and remain competitive in a dynamic environment.
Baqir has been instrumental in strengthening partnerships with customers and industry stakeholders, ensuring that Northpoint remains responsive to evolving market needs. By maintaining open communication with dealers and manufacturers, he helps identify emerging trends, anticipate challenges and develop solutions that support long-term business objectives. His customer-focused approach has helped build trust and loyalty while creating opportunities for sustainable growth.
“ The involvement of diverse people and teams in solving problems often leads to better outcomes because it enables organizations to leverage a broader range of perspectives, experiences and strengths,” Baqir says.“ Collaboration fosters innovation and creates solutions that are more responsive to customer needs.”
Under Baqir’ s leadership, the marine segment has become one of the most successful and strategically important business lines within Northpoint. Through his commitment to relationship building, customer service and industry expertise, he has helped position the company as a trusted financing partner throughout the recreational boating industry.
“ We have a great team. We are not a call center; operations and sales work closely together,” Baqir says.“ The key objective is supporting the dealers and OEMs that we have the great fortune to do business with. If you have sales and operations making decisions together, then the customer takes precedent.”
Baqir regularly shares his expertise and market insights through industry podcasts, speaking engagements and bi-monthly newsletters that provide valuable perspectives on market trends, financing, industry challenges and growth opportunities. His willingness to openly share knowledge has made him a trusted resource for dealers, manufacturers and industry partners seeking to better understand the evolving marine marketplace.
JEFF ELLIS
President, Russell Marine
Jeff Ellis’ passion for boating directly shapes his leadership style at Russell Marine. Beginning as The Ridge Marine Manager and rising to President of Russell Marine in 2022, he has consistently modeled the standards he expects from others throughout his 28-year career.
Ellis has mastered every aspect of marine operations since early in his career, driving higher profitability, stronger employee retention and disciplined expense management – all while building a culture where employees feel valued as people, not just staff.
Today, Ellis leads four marinas, two dealerships and a charter business he and his team envisioned and launched. His leadership is rooted in continuous improvement, studying emerging industry trends, challenging manufacturers to elevate product quality and customer experience, and using data and statistical surveys to guide strategic decisions.
“ I believe that part of leadership is being able to identify the talents and abilities of your employees and then putting them in the position where they can best use the abilities and talents to get the very best performance,” Ellis says.“ A leader needs to be an advocate for their employees and be able to provide the tools that will help maximize performance. Future planning for the company and employee growth is very important.”
When Ellis stepped into his current leadership role, the company was emerging from the unprecedented Covid era sales boom, a period that left many marine businesses vulnerable to inventory imbalance, inflated expenses and long-term financial risk. Instead of clinging to a“ sell at all costs” mindset, Ellis immediately recognized the shift ahead and led the company through a disciplined transition.
“ After Covid, the biggest way to keep Russell Marine successful was through aggressive inventory control to minimize interest expense and promote inventory turns,” Ellis explains.“ It’ s also important to be transparent with your employees and stay consistent with what works. Also, don’ t be afraid to make changes when necessary.”
Ellis is deeply committed to developing the next generation of marine industry leaders, and his mentorship has already transformed the trajectory of multiple young professionals within Russell Marine. He identifies potential early, invests in their growth and provides the guidance, accountability and opportunities needed to turn entry level employees into high impact contributors.
“ What we really promote is a lake lifestyle,” Ellis says.“ We try to bring people to the water that may not have ever thought they could enjoy boating. This is part of the reason we started our Charters and Adventure business, which teaches people how to ride efoils, surf or wakeboard, or ski. Building memories is what it’ s all about, and what better way to do that than on the water with family and friends?”
Under Jeff’ s leadership, individuals like Chase Maynard, Tori Donahoo and Tommy Edwards have risen from dockhands to key management roles. Chase progressed from dockhand to sales to store manager; Tori discovered her passion for merchandising and now leads the company’ s entire merchandising program; and Tommy advanced from dockhand to sales and ultimately to assistant manager of Boating & Outdoors. These aren’ t isolated stories- they reflect a deliberate culture Jeff has built around growth, opportunity and internal promotion.
“ We believe in training our employees whether through OEM, MRAA or Garage Composite programs,” Ellis notes.“ Certain goals met are recognized through incentives. Ultimately, our employees realize what a fun industry this is to be in and they can have long, rewarding careers while building long-lasting relationships with people in the industry and with customers. These relationships help bring repeat business and new people to your dealership.”
HOWIE HECHT
Co-founder and COO, LOOKOUT
As co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and a board member of LOOKOUT, Howie Hecht wears quite a few hats at his company.
Working across the full organization, from manufacturing and delivery to customer success and long-term company development, he connects the people building the technology with the dealers installing it and the captains depending on it, ensuring that innovation remains practical, reliable and responsive to real boating needs.
Hecht’ s leadership is grounded in a valuable combination of experience. He brings more than 30 years in high-tech security, data science and startup development, backed by a multidisciplinary MIT and Sloan School of Management education. He is also a boater with more than 30 years of experience on the water and at the helm. That dual perspective allows him to challenge the industry’ s status quo without losing sight of seamanship, usability or the responsibility a captain carries for everyone aboard.
Hecht’ s secret to being a successful leader? Helping his team members understand his vision so they can all reach the same goal.
“ It’ s important to have your team understand what you’ re asking them to do and why it’ s important. Simply dictating what needs to be done is a mistake,” he advises.“ There needs to be a full understanding of the vision, and one of the important aspects of that is opening the door for conversation. Invariably, the situation ends up improving because of the input you receive from others.”
Communication plays a huge part in the way Hecht leads his team and the company. Without everyone on board, LOOKOUT would never survive.
“ Everything that we do at LOOKOUT is a team effort,” Hecht says.“ We built an amazing team that delivers the best solutions on the market, and part of that is providing the right mentorship and leadership. We give team members the space to perform to the best of their abilities. I wouldn’ t be where I am without my team.”
Hecht’ s influence also reaches beyond LOOKOUT. He helps build the operational and channel infrastructure required for AI marine vision to gain trust across the industry. Whether working with engineers, installers, customers or fellow industry leaders, he consistently translates complex technology into clear benefits: better awareness, more confident decisions and safer time on the water.
With the help of Hecht’ s operational leadership, LOOKOUT progressed from its 2024 commercial launch to LOOKOUT 3.0 in 2025, adding innovations such as a synthetic 3D Aerial View and dynamic shallow-water fences. The company also reduced installation friction by integrating its AI vision cameras with a Coast Guard-certified all-around white navigation light in a first-of-its-kind top-of-mast solution. That design earned a 2025 IBEX Innovation Award in OEM Electronics from the NMMA after Hecht pitched the judges.
More recently, LOOKOUT added route synchronization with Argo Navigation and expanded the system’ s availability through a broad international network of marine distributors and dealers.
This work advances the industry by addressing a persistent gap between the tools already at the helm and the hazards that remain difficult to see- particularly at night, in glare, in crowded waterways or when an operator’ s attention is divided. By making advanced perception compatible with familiar marine displays and existing onboard data, Hecht has helped transform an emerging technology into a deployable tool for recreational, commercial and professional operators.
“ Boating is lagging behind in certain technological enhancements, ones that help with safety and situational awareness,” Hecht notes.“ One of our guiding principles at LOOKOUT is to make boating safer and to give the captain, along with everyone else in the vessel, the best awareness and comfort level.”
The boating industry is working simultaneously to improve safety, attract technical talent and meet customer expectations shaped by rapid advances in automotive and consumer technology. Hecht is a bridge across all three needs by helping the industry adopt AI without abandoning sound seamanship, preparing people and partners to support new technology, and building the operational foundation required to scale it.