Apr 3, 2023

Boating Industry Magazine has announced its 2023 40 Under 40 list recognizing two emerging leaders within Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) among the industry’s top young professionals. Rusty Kucher, Pontoon Category Director, and Nick Hooge, Franchise Owner, Freedom Boat Club of Seattle, were selected as award recipients among the hundreds of nominations.

Kucher joined Brunswick in 2017 after building his engineering and project management experience across major firms in the Chicago area. Since joining the Company, Kucher has held a variety of strategy, development, and marketing roles within the pontoon portfolio, and now serves as the Category Director of Pontoons supporting product development for Harris Boats.

“I am incredibly grateful to be recognized among my industry peers as one of the 40 Under 40 recipients this year,” said Kucher. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to expand my skillset and work alongside some of the top talent in recreational boating throughout my tenure at Brunswick, and I look forward to continuing to make meaningful impacts in developing products and solutions to expand the industry and attract the next generation of boaters.”

Hooge has been with Freedom Boat Club since 2015, initially starting his career as one of the leading membership executives for Freedom’s corporate territory in Southwest Florida before embarking on his business ownership journey to establish Freedom’s footprint in Seattle. Since opening in 2017, Hooge has grown the Seattle territory to 13 locations with 160+ boats that serve families on more than 15,000+ boat trips per year.

“I’m thrilled and honored to be recognized as a 40 Under 40 award recipient as a result of my passion and work ethic to deliver tremendous value to thousands of our loyal Freedom members,” said Hooge. “At Freedom, we are committed to creating remarkable member experiences and making boating accessible for all, and our success in the Pacific Northwest and ability to execute on that mission is my life’s greatest work. This award is truly a testament to my talented team and their efforts to deliver exceptional on-water experiences one boat ride at a time, and I look forward to all that we will accomplish together in the years ahead.”

Each year, Boating Industry’s 40 Under 40 features young leaders in the boating industry who stand out among hundreds of peer nominations for their multitude of accomplishments and promise to push the boating industry forward.