Sept 1, 2017

One of the highlights at the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) International Marine Electronics Conference & Expo, to be held Sept. 26-28 at the Hilton Bellevue Hotel in Bellevue, WA, will be the CEO panel Q&A session with the leaders of two major marine electronics companies, Furuno USA and Actisense. During lunch on Tuesday, Sept. 26, Furuno USA’s Brad Reents and Actisense’s Phil Whitehurst will give their take on the current state of the industry, new technology, the future of the market and challenges ahead.

Reents, a CPA, took the helm at Furuno USA in 2014 after serving as Treasurer, who was responsible for all financial aspects of the company. He has been a member of the Furuno USA Board of Directors since 2003.

Whitehurst started UK-based Actisense in 1997. He spearheaded the effort to create and develop the Actisense brand, which is based around interfacing NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000® products. Whitehurst has a degree in electrical and electronics engineering.

Events scheduled for the three-day NMEA Conference & Expo include a full roster of education and training sessions, a two-day product exposition, on-the-water electronics demonstrations, day long installer training courses and two-dozen manufacturer seminars. Thursday evening, Sept. 28, NMEA will present its annual Product of Excellence and Manufacturer of the Year Awards and the NMEA Technology Award.

“These top industry executives have a wealth of knowledge and foresight to share with the NMEA Conference attendees,” said Mark Reedenauer, NMEA President & Executive Director. “Questions to the panelists will come from the NMEA membership and will be pre-screened by the NMEA Conference Committee. We welcome NMEA members to submit questions they may have directly to NMEA for inclusion.”

To submit a CEO panel question please email info@nmea.org. To register for the NMEA Conference, visit www.expo.nmea.org or call (410) 975-9425.