Chris Soeters is a seasoned marine executive, currently serving as General Manager of BLA – Boating, Lifestyle & Adventure, Brunswick Corporation’s regional distribution arm. In this role, he leads BLA’s strategic direction, cultivates key supplier partnerships, and drives market expansion across Australia, New Zealand and the wider Asia-Pacific, strengthening the company’s standing as a leading distributor of marine, outdoor and adventure focused product portfolios.
Soeters’ career reflects more than two decades of progressive leadership across global marine technology, electronics and lifestyle brands. Prior to joining BLA, he held significant senior roles in the Asia-Pacific region, most notably at Dometic, where he served as APAC Marine Sales Director. In this capacity he led commercial strategy and sales execution across the rapidly evolving marine segment, aligning regional growth initiatives with supplier and dealer networks. His transition to BLA followed a successful 3½-year tenure at Dometic, during which he built and led high-performance teams that delivered strong results in competitive market conditions.
Before his time at Dometic, Soeters accrued considerable industry experience across several influential marine technology companies. He spent nearly seven years with Garmin, supporting OEM account development, sales leadership and market expansion initiatives for the marine electronics business. Earlier, he contributed to the growth of FUSION Entertainment, a leading marine audio brand, where he was instrumental in managing and scaling operations ahead of the company’s acquisition by Garmin. These cumulative roles helped solidify his expertise in product portfolio management, channel strategy, and cross-regional sales execution.
As General Manager of BLA Distribution, Soeters has emphasised the importance of supplier engagement, industry networking and product innovation. Under his leadership, BLA has continued to enhance its prominence on the Australasian marine calendar through initiatives such as the annual BLATS trade show, where dealers, OEMs and suppliers converge to explore the latest innovations and build deeper industry relationships. At the 2025 BLATS event in Brisbane, he played a visible role in contributing to the show’s evolution as a key platform for unveiling new products, recognising industry excellence and facilitating strategic dialogue across the supply chain.
Soeters is also active in global industry events, frequently leading the BLA team at major international exhibitions such as METSTRADE, where he fosters new connections with global suppliers and assesses emerging trends that can benefit the Australasian market. His engagement at such events reflects a broader commitment to maintaining BLA’s competitive edge through both strategic sourcing and hands-on market intelligence.
Colleagues and partners describe Soeters as a commercially astute, relationship-driven leader with deep sector knowledge and a strong commitment to operational excellence. His ability to bridge global supplier ambitions with local market realities has been critical to BLA’s continued growth, particularly in segments such as marine lighting, electronics, outdoor adventure equipment and lifestyle accessories.
Chris Soeters, General Manager of BLA in conversation with Domenic Genua, Publisher of Marine Business News
Marine Business News sat with Chris. This is what he had to say.
You’ve held senior roles across Garmin, Fusion Entertainment, Dometic and now BLA Distribution. Looking back across those businesses and market cycles, what have been the most important leadership lessons that shaped how you now run a distribution business?
I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the industry’s most respected organisations, and each experience has shaped my perspective in different ways. The most important lesson for me has been the value of trust, earning it with business partners, customers and the teams I’ve led.
No matter the market cycle, strong relationships are what sustain a business. They create alignment in good times and resilience in challenging ones. When markets tighten and tough decisions are required, trust and open communication make those decisions clearer and more achievable. Today, that focus on relationships underpins how I lead, transparency, consistency and building long term partnerships.
When you stepped into the General Manager role at BLA, what were the immediate priorities you identified operationally, commercially and culturally, and how have those evolved over your first phase in the role?
BLA has a very rich history, with more than 50 years as a key player in the marine industry. There are many long tenured team members within the business, and that brings an enormous amount of pride, experience and passion.
When I stepped into the role, an immediate priority was reigniting that passion while encouraging the team to view the business through a fresh lens. We can’t be afraid to challenge current beliefs or embrace change. We won’t always get it right the first time, but what matters is having the mindset and commitment to keep refining our approach until we do.
That was an important early step and continues to be an ongoing process. Commercially and operationally, it was equally important to understand what we do well and where we can improve from both our supplier partners’ and our customers’ viewpoints. Listening carefully to that feedback and, more importantly, acting on it has been a key priority, and it’s something we’re very focused on as we move forward.
How do you define the role of a modern marine distributor today? Beyond warehousing and logistics, where do you believe distributors now add the greatest value to brands, dealers and end customers?
At BLA, we see our role as going well beyond moving product. We focus on strengthening the marine industry by building meaningful connections across the supply chain, believing that sustainable sales come from a healthy, well connected market.
We work closely with innovative brands to help OEM and dealer partners access new technologies and compete globally, supporting suppliers with market positioning and local introduction. That value is supported by strong capability including in house marketing, technical and customer support, national warehousing and robust inventory to meet increasingly high expectations around speed, pricing and product support.
Ultimately, modern distribution is about being a genuine partner to brands and dealers, adding value through expertise, infrastructure and insight.
BLA manages a diverse portfolio across marine, lifestyle and adventure categories. How do you evaluate which brands to partner with, and how actively do you work with suppliers on product development, market entry and localisation for Australia and New Zealand?
We are approached by a large number of brands, so we need to be very considered in our approach. The starting point is having a clear understanding of the value proposition and whether it genuinely fits the APAC markets. It’s important that any potential partnership represents a win win where the brand benefits from our scale, capability and market knowledge, and where we can deliver real value to our customers.
Beyond initial alignment, we work closely with suppliers on market entry, positioning and ongoing development. That often includes feedback on product suitability, localisation requirements and go to market strategy to ensure products resonate with local conditions and customer expectations. The strongest partnerships are those with open collaboration and a shared long term view of sustainable growth in the region.
Dealer capability and succession remain major industry challenges. From BLA’s perspective, what separates high performing dealer partners from those that struggle, and how can distributors realistically support dealer professionalism and sustainability?
If you look at how technology in the marine industry has evolved over the past 20 years, it’s easy to understand the challenges dealers face in today’s environment. Modern marine products and systems make boating more accessible, safer and more enjoyable, but they also require a far deeper level of knowledge to sell, install and support effectively.
At the same time, consumer behaviour has changed significantly. Customers are more informed, more price aware and more willing to shop across multiple channels. High performing dealers have adapted to this reality: they invest in training, embrace new technologies, focus on professionalism and deliver a consistently strong customer experience.
Distributors have an important role in supporting dealer sustainability. At BLA, that means supporting capability through technical training, sales education, marketing support and reliable after sales service, helping dealers build confidence, professionalism and long term resilience in a more complex retail environment.
You’ve worked extensively in electronics, systems integration and smart technologies. Which product categories or technology trends do you believe will most materially reshape the marine aftermarket and OEM supply chain over the next five to ten years?
After attending IBEX and METSTRADE last year, it’s clear there are some very interesting products and technologies coming to market. In my opinion, the solutions that will ultimately prove most successful are those that achieve a common goal, simplicity.
Technology for the sake of technology doesn’t translate anymore. The products that gain traction are the ones that genuinely make boating easier, safer and more accessible. As consumers continue to face time pressures, when they do get the opportunity to be on the water, they want systems and equipment that are intuitive, reliable and easy to understand.
From an aftermarket and OEM perspective, this points to smarter integration, greater system reliability and user focused design. Products need to remove complexity, not add to it, while still delivering meaningful performance and safety benefits.
BLATS has become one of the industry’s most important trade touchpoints. What role do you believe trade events still play in an increasingly digital marketplace, and how do you see BLATS evolving as a strategic platform rather than just a buying show?
The BLA Trade Show, or BLATS, is a strong platform and very much a passion project of my predecessor. In my former role with Dometic, I experienced the event from the supplier side, which gave me a clear appreciation of the value it creates through genuine, face to face engagement with the local industry.
While digital tools are increasingly important, there is still no substitute for the depth of connection that comes from bringing people together in one place. BLATS creates a unique opportunity for suppliers, dealers, OEMs and service agents to come together, share challenges, exchange ideas and celebrate successes. That sense of connection and collaboration truly underpins the event.
Looking forward, we see BLATS continuing to evolve beyond a traditional buying show into a broader industry forum. Our aim is to shape it into a platform that adds real strategic value through deeper collaboration, knowledge sharing, product education and strengthening long term relationships.
The Australian and New Zealand marine markets have experienced post COVID volatility, supply chain shifts and changing consumer behaviour. What signals are you seeing in demand, inventory flow and dealer confidence as we move into the next cycle?
Consumer confidence remains challenging across both markets; however, we are starting to see positive signs and pockets of uplift in certain categories. While supply chains have largely stabilised, understanding true demand in an environment of fluctuating confidence continues to be the biggest challenge.
From an inventory perspective, availability is generally stable and lead times are far more predictable than during the post COVID peak. The complexity lies in aligning inventory levels to uneven demand, particularly as dealers manage cash flow more conservatively and avoid over stocking.
Dealer confidence is cautious but gradually improving. Many dealers are taking a more disciplined approach focusing on stock turns and controlling costs. While uncertainty remains, there’s a sense the industry is adjusting to a more normalised cycle.
Distribution businesses rely heavily on frontline sales, technical support and logistics teams. How do you build a high performance culture inside a national distribution business while maintaining operational discipline and customer responsiveness?
Being part of Brunswick gives us the advantage of shared people and warehouse resources, along with well established practices and processes. This provides a strong operational foundation while allowing us to invest in upskilling, career progression and talent development. As a result, we’re able to place the right people in key roles, maintain operational discipline and deliver a responsive, high quality customer experience.
Looking forward five to ten years, what would success look like for BLA under your leadership, and personally, what impact would you like to leave on the Australasian marine industry?
Success will be defined by ensuring BLA’s offer remains compelling and continues to evolve in line with changing consumer expectations. That means growing the brands that trust us to represent them in the region and working closely with those partners to develop and adapt product solutions that reflect the unique requirements of the Asia Pacific markets.
On a personal level, I’d like my impact to be felt through people. Building clear career pathways, developing talent and creating opportunities for individuals to grow within the industry are priorities for me. If we can retain skilled, passionate people in the marine sector and contribute to its long term sustainability, that will be a meaningful measure of success.
For more information, visit bla.com.au
