Hunter executive receives leadership award
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – John Peterson, director of Sales and Marketing for Hunter Marine Corp. in Alachua, Fla., was awarded the SAIL Magazine Industry Award for Leadership on Oct. 5, during a ceremony at the Annapolis Sailboat Show, SAIL reported in a recent press release.
“SAIL is honored to present this year’s leadership award to one of our industry’s most respected individuals—a smart businessman, great guy, and a leader in every sense of the word,” said SAIL publisher Josh Adams, who presented the award.
Luhrs Marine Group brought Peterson on board as Hunter Marine’s director of Sales and Marketing in 1994. By the year 2000, Peterson had grown Hunter into the successful company it is today, doubling sales volume and helping it become a leading sailboat manufacturer in North America.
“John’s appointment set the stage for Hunter’s sharp growth starting in the late 1990s and gave the sailing industry a strategic thinker, strong leader and someone who continues to create opportunities for the company and the industry via significant partnerships,” Adams said.
Some of those partnerships include development of Hunter’s small-boat segment, targeting entry-level sailors with marketing efforts that have benefited both Hunter and the industry, providing new Hunter keelboats to Offshore Sailing School to be used in their Liveaboard Cruising courses, and joining up with SailTime to sell over 100 keelboats from 33 to 44 feet into the fractional-sailing program (with 20 to 30 more added each year).
In addition to his contributions to the sailing industry through his business at Hunter, Peterson has also served at Sail America, the sailing industry association whose mission is to promote the health and growth of sailing. In 1997 he became a board member, serving later as boat show chairman and board president from 2000-2004. He currently sits on the association’s board of directors.
- For more of the latest news, click here.
