Boating Industry announces key promotions

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — After several years of sustained growth, Boating Industry magazine today announced two key promotions as well as an addition to its staff.

Matt Gruhn, the magazine’s longtime editor-in-chief and associate publisher, has been promoted to group publisher/editorial director of the Trade Group at Boating Industry’s parent, Affinity Media. The Trade Group encompasses Boating Industry and its sister publication, Powersports Business. Taking over Gruhn’s role as editor-in-chief will be senior editor Liz Walz. In addition, Mike Davin will join the Trade Group as online editor.

After joining Affinity (then called Ehlert Publishing Group) in February of 1997, Gruhn spent the last 13 years first honing his skills as an editor of marine and powersports consumer magazines before taking charge of Boating Industry in 2004.

“Matt is not only an incredibly gifted editor, but he has also become a new business development expert,” said Tammy Galvin, vice president of Affinity Media. “Under his leadership, the Boating Industry brand has come to include many profitable extensions including e-newsletters, e-white papers, the Top 100 Dealers Program and the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo. We wanted to give him the ability to continue to pursue these brand extensions and programs while remaining closely connected to the editorial side of BI, which is what this well-deserved promotion does.”

Walz most recently joined BI as executive editor in 2001 when she was wooed back to the magazine after a brief hiatus to what was then publishing powerhouse Miller Freeman. She has been instrumental in building the Boating Industry brand, through its numerous products and services, into what it is today.

“These promotions won’t come as a surprise to anyone in the industry who has seen these two in action,” Galvin said. “Matt and Liz’s relationships with dealers, builders and suppliers alike are amazing and have made them both extremely respected as journalists, highly sought after as industry experts and integral to the Trade Group’s continued growth.”
 
Finally, Mike Davin joins the Trade Group as online editor, where he will oversee the group’s digital products, including its e-newsletters, e-white papers, Web sites, blogs, social networking efforts, webinars and event microsites and coverage. He joins the Trade Group after serving in a similar capacity at Affinity Media where he supported both consumer and trade properties. Davin has been covering the marine industry since 2008, when he served as managing editor of Bass and Walleye Boats magazine.

“Because of the growth the Trade Group has seen, we knew we needed to invest in its continued success,” Galvin said. “Adding another full-time staff member will help us continue to deliver on our mission to be the marine industry’s trusted source for proven solutions, delivering it real results on a daily basis.”

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