Article

Robert Newsome, NMMA’s Senior Vice President, Operations, has been named one of three finalists for Boating Industry’s 2021 Movers & Shakers awards, recognizing innovative leaders and trailblazers in the recreational boating industry who embrace the challenge of change.

Boating Industry’s 2021 Mover & Shaker of the Year is Paul Singer, President, Centurion & Supreme Boats. Other finalists are Brenna Preisser, President, Business Acceleration and CHRO, Brunswick Corporation, and Bryan Venberg, CHRO and head of supply chain, West Marine.

“Their leadership has been especially critical during this extraordinary past year-and-a-half when it seems as if the only constant in our lives – and the industry – has been change,” noted David Gee, Boating Industry.

Here’s the excerpt from Boating Industry honoring Newsome and his achievements:

Newsome’s 17-year career with the NMMA began with a letter. Actually, to back up a bit further, it actually started with a conversation he had with himself one morning.

“I literally woke up one day and asked myself what am I really going to enjoy in life?” recounted Newsome in a recent conversation. “Career plus passion, right? I thought I’m a lifelong boater, this is what my family does, this is what I grew up doing, this is what I want to do. So I literally looked up ‘boating businesses in Chicago’ and came across the NMMA.”

Newsome told Boating Industry that he had not only never heard of NMMA specifically, but he really didn’t know or understand the role of trade associations in general.

“I wrote long-time NMMA president Thom Dammrich a letter and told him how I wanted to get involved in boating, and that I was passionate about safety, and great boating experiences, and a whole bunch of other things I don’t even remember. I received a call shortly after that saying how they appreciated my interest but didn’t really have a position open for me.”

Regardless, Newsome did actually come into the office, met with a couple of people, and then a couple of months later received a phone call.

“This time they said they actually have a job that might be a good fit for me,” said Newsome with a smile. “So I started out in our engineering standards department working on certification marketing. But then the person who was running the program left about a year later and I took it over. I didn’t have an engineering or scientific background but that was okay. It’s really program management, making sure we represent the interests of a multitude of parties. What’s best for the boating public, what’s best for the manufacturers, what’s good for the entire industry, and balancing all of those interests in a harmonious manner. And along the way I really did get a chance to learn a lot from some great engineering minds.”

Newsome, who got his MBA from Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business while continuing to work full-time at NMMA, must be a quick study. Because he kept accumulating responsibilities during his long career.

In February of 2020, Newsome, who at that time was senior vice president of strategy, engineering standards and membership, was named to an expanded role as senior vice president, operations, as the NMMA focused on its strategic vision and membership engagement to grow the industry.

Newsome now oversees NMMA’s strategic planning, human resources, IT and systems, membership, member programs, engineering standards and governance.

“I have a pretty big portfolio that’s kind of the central nervous system, or the hub, helping with all that NMMA does,” explains Newsome. “I’m just always trying to figure out how we can come together to best serve our members, and how we align resources, human or financial, behind those things. And probably the most important thing, to look for opportunities to bring the right people together, for the right team, to work on the right product.”

It sounds like a big job, but Newsome says it’s both fun – and satisfying.

“I get to see everything our organization does, and I get to see it in depth. I’ve been here a long time now, and I’ve always appreciated my colleagues and co-workers. But for the past couple of years particularly, I’ve really had the backstage pass if you will, to truly see so much excellence. It’s a unique perspective and a privilege.”

Newsome told us it was also a privilege to participate in NMMA’s long-term strategic planning process.

“That was so transformational,” he said. “Out of that we began investing more in consumer research. We began investing more in government relations and public affairs. It wasn’t designing a product and then selling it. Instead we used the customer, or in our case the member, or the industry, to tell us what they want and need.”

That’s quite a bit about the past. What does Newsome see in the future for the recreational boating industry?

“It’s all opportunity ahead. With what we’ve seen in the past year or so, as peo­ple go through this life re-evaluation, and realize they want to spend more time engaged in outdoor recreation activities such as boating, I just think that momentum is here to stay for a long time.”