Boating Industry Names 2026 Mover and Shaker Finalists
With the launch of its October issue, Boating Industry recently named Brian Goodwin, VP, Standards & Compliance at ABYC and Daniel Gutierrez, President of Tigé Boats 2026 Mover & Shaker Finalists.
Brian Goodwin, VP, Standards & Compliance, ABYC
After spending over 15 years at ABYC successfully bringing together industry stakeholders to address complex technical and safety issues, Brian Goodwin was recently promoted to Vice President, Standards and Compliance. This well-deserved promotion showcases his commitment to improving the marine industry.
In his current role, Goodwin guides the development and application of safety standards while ensuring they evolve with emerging technologies. He is a trusted technical resource and a collaborative leader within ABYC and across the recreational boating community.
As high-voltage systems, lithium-ion batteries, dockside charging, digital power distribution, eFoils and advanced driver-assistance technologies become more common, Goodwin has been proactive in identifying where existing standards and regulations need to evolve. He brings together manufacturers, regulators, technical experts and other stakeholders to address emerging challenges early, including through collaboration and testing with the U.S. Coast Guard.
“ABYC has a strategic initiative to provide a trusted source of technical information and develop better tools for our members,” Goodwin says. “As part of that effort, we are exploring options such as a retrieval augmented generation (RAG) chatbot grounded in authoritative ABYC content. We are also looking at other ways AI may support the standards development process. The goal is to help members access accurate, reliable information more efficiently.”
Mentoring Newer Industry Professionals
A big part of Goodwin’s mentorship comes through his work with ABYC’s Project Technical Committees (PTCs). He helps bring newer industry professionals into the standards-development process, gives them opportunities to learn from experienced experts and encourages them to contribute their own perspectives.
“I work collaboratively with ABYC’s Project Technical Committees to develop and update ABYC standards,” Goodwin says. “This often includes identifying practical paths forward, such as subcommittee work, research and testing. I also encourage newer industry professionals to become involved so they can learn from long-time members, benefit from their institutional knowledge and build strong professional networks.”
In helping newer industry professionals become acclimated to the recreational boating market, Goodwin believes that keeping things simple can offer the best possible outcome.
“I try to understand the root of a problem and address it in the simplest practical way,” he explains. “Complex solutions create more opportunities for roadblocks, often require more time and resources, and can ultimately be more susceptible to failure.”
Establishing a Foundation for a Safer Boating Community
Part of what Goodwin does at ABYC is lead standards development, which provides a foundation for safe boat design, construction, maintenance and repair. His work also supports greater harmonization between U.S. and international standards, helping create more consistency for manufacturers operating in a global marketplace.
One challenge that ABYC faces is keeping pace with rapidly changing technology, including AI. As more marine professionals turn to tools like ChatGPT for technical and standards questions, there is a real risk of receiving incomplete or incorrect information.
Goodwin looks ahead at challenges like this to ensure ABYC remains the trusted source for accurate standards information while also exploring how new technology can be used responsibly to better serve the industry.
“A big part of my role is making sure ABYC keeps pace with changes in the industry,” Goodwin says. “That includes addressing emerging technologies such as advanced driver assistance systems, lithium-ion batteries and electric foils through our standards, education and technical resources. I also host the USCG Risk Mitigation Series and speak at IBEX and other industry events about ABYC standards and current industry issues. These opportunities allow me to bring experts together, share practical information and help the industry move forward safely.”
Establishing Robust Safety Standards
Researchers found that boats certified to ABYC standards are 43% to 47% less likely to be involved in certain types of accidents. In addition, researchers found that adherence to ABYC standards reduces the likelihood of fatalities by 26% to 58% in accidents that do occur.
Based on these statistics, if ABYC wasn’t here, in round numbers, you would have 50% more accidents and 50% more deaths. Goodwin leads the standards development process that makes this possible.
Goodwin maintains the rigor required as an ANSI-accredited standards developer. His leadership helps ensure standards are developed through an open, balanced and consensus-based process, giving industry stakeholders confidence in how standards are created.
He has also worked closely with the U.S. Coast Guard on grant-funded initiatives that support boating safety, standards development and industry education.
Brian’s vision for ABYC goes beyond standards development. He is helping shape how the organization leads and educates the industry.
Daniel Gutierrez, President, Tigé Boats
In just 16 years at Tigé Boats, Daniel Gutierrez went from entry-level Graphic Designer to now President. During that time, he has designed and introduced 34 new boats into the market, launched two additional brands (Ultré and ATX Surf Boats) and given three now-standard towboat suppliers their first OEM contract.
Job titles record what Tigé gave Gutierrez. The boats on the water and the suppliers he brought into the boating industry record what he gave back.
Gutierrez joined Tigé Boats in 2004 as an entry-level Graphic Designer, but his connection to the company started with a genuine passion for wake boats. After graduating college, he chose a position at Tigé over a higher-paying opportunity at an agency because he wanted to build his career around the boats and an industry he was passionate about.
That decision set the course for more than two decades of leadership at Tigé. Gutierrez went on to lead marketing and product design, became Tigé’s Chief Operating Officer in 2018 and was named President in 2020.
Gutierrez’s secret to success? Getting real.
“For me, ‘get real’ means being completely honest about where you are, where you’re positioned, what you’re doing well and where you’re simply not good enough,” he says. “You have to start with where you actually are.”
Always Looking for Improvements
What truly sets Gutierrez apart as a leader is that he never settles. He is not someone who looks at a successful product or process and decides it is good enough. He is always asking what could be better, what could be different and what Tigé could do next.
Gutierrez’s ambitious nature gives him the instinct to move before the category does. When GatorStep Nonskid, Wet Sounds Audio and Audison Pro-Audio were still unproven in towboats, Gutierrez gave each of them their first OEM contract. Other towboat manufacturers waited for someone else to take that risk first.
Today, all three vendors are spec’d across the segment, including on boats that compete directly with Tigé. Those early orders gave three suppliers the volume and credibility to build real businesses in the marine industry and raised the equipment standard for every buyer in the category.
Ask what would be different if Daniel had taken the agency job in 2004, and the answer runs well past Tigé’s own product line.
“I’m extremely competitive. I like to win, and I’m proud that our team does, too,” Gutierrez says. “But you don’t earn the right to win by talking about it. You earn it by doing the work, building better products, improving execution, developing great people and attacking the gaps between where you are and where you want to be.”
Creating and Launching New Product Lines
Gutierrez has advanced the boating industry by helping make the excitement of wakesurfing and modern towboat technology accessible to more people. One of his most significant contributions was in 2019, when he led the creation and launch of ATX Surf Boats, Tigé’s sister brand, built to give more people the opportunity to get into the sport at a more accessible price point.
He saw an opportunity to bring more boaters into wakesurfing without giving up the performance, technology and experience that make the sport exciting. Tigé has since built thousands of ATX Surf Boats.
“With ATX, the challenge was delivering the performance, quality and experience people expect from us at a more accessible price point,” Gutierrez explains. “That forced our entire team to think differently, from design and engineering to manufacturing, sourcing, sales and marketing. We had to determine where we could create efficiencies without compromising the things that actually matter to the customer.”
The Ultré ZX challenged the team from the opposite direction. Instead of asking how they could make a great towboat more accessible, they asked what they could create if they pushed further into performance, technology and luxury. Tigé wasn’t interested in simply adding features and building a more expensive boat. The team wanted to create things that hadn’t been done before and deliver an experience that genuinely moved the category forward.
“I’m extremely proud of both because neither happened because of one person or one great idea. They required people across this company to challenge assumptions, solve difficult problems and execute together,” Gutierrez says. “ATX and the Ultré line serve very different customers, but the philosophy behind them is the same: understand the opportunity, know what matters to the customer, and build a product that earns its place in the market.”
Mentoring the Next Generation
Gutierrez has served as a great mentor during his time at Tigé. An example of his mentorship can be seen with Clint Howell, who joined Tigé as an entry-level engineer in 2016. Gutierrez handed him higher-level projects well before his title said he was ready for them, and Clint was promoted to senior engineer in 2022. He is now Director of Product Engineering at Syntec, a supplier serving the towboat industry, where the experience he built at Tigé benefits the entire segment.
Gutierrez’s mentorship has never been about keeping good people in place. It is about making sure they are ready for whatever comes next, at Tigé or somewhere else in the industry.
“Every person in our company has taken a very hard look at ourselves over the last few years,” Gutierrez says. “We’ve been honest about where we needed to improve, made some difficult decisions, empowered some very exceptional people and gotten better because of it. I’m proud of the progress, but the goal isn’t to convince ourselves we’re great. The goal is to keep doing the things that make us great.”
Gutierrez has devoted his career to moving Tigé forward, but his impact reaches beyond the company. His willingness to innovate, listen, learn and challenge the status quo is exactly what it means to be a mover and shaker in the boating industry.
These features were originally published in the October 2026 issue of Boating Industry.
