Bowley joins Raymarine as MD
After just 6 weeks in the job, Ben Bowley, the new MD for Raymarine Australia, is energized and enthused about his role, the company's direction and success so far this year.
'MD of Raymarine, Ben Bowley, enjoying consumer and boat builder enquiries at SCIBS.'
Jeni
Bone
Joining with a background in consumer electronics, IT and aviation, Bowley replaces Stuart Drysdale who ended his tenure at Raymarine in November last year.
Bowley spent 14 years with Apple Computer Australia & NZ, ultimately in the role of MD, then went on to become a Director at Panasonic Australia in the Business Systems area, focusing on B2B. He also started and ran his own airline charter company from Bankstown Airport.
Commenting on recent reports that the UK operations have experienced a rough few months, with the rumoured takeover knocking value off the company's shareprice, Bowley points out that talk of a takeover bid had actually inflated the price.
"To put it all in context: the share price is now back to levels of two and a half months ago, before talk of a bid."
Bowley, who recently spent a week in the UK inspecting R&D and product quality testing, says the company is in good shape, particularly Australian operations.
"We have had a great start to the year. In fact, while the US and other dealer networks have slowed somewhat, Australia has bucked the trend and is producing excellent sales figures."
The Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, held 21-24 May on Queensland's Gold Coast - the first show in the national calendar - was particularly successful for Raymarine, according to Bowley.
"It was a good show for us. Our service dealers joined us working on our stand, which was great for them to deal directly with the public and also, work alongside us as the distributor. We had a high level of interest and enquiry from customers and boat builders."
This year, Raymarine is launching several new products across all segments, including the G-series at the high end and at the smaller end, a range of auto pilots, called "sport pilots".
"It will be an exciting year for Raymarine," affirms Bowley. "I've only been here a little while, but I am loving it. I did a lot of due diligence on the company before joining and I am thrilled. It's even better than I thought it would be.
'Raymarine has great products, strong commitment to quality, a terrific team here and in the UK and huge commitment to the industry."
More at www.raymarine.com.au
by Jeni Bone 
Turners Beach, TAS
