CEO OF THE WEEK: Jun 13, 2003 Bill McGill MarineMax, CEO and Chairman of the Board
Thirty years after entering the boating business, Bill McGill sits at the helm of MarineMax, a company he took public in 1998. MarineMax, a boating retailer, now has 60 locations in 13 states and its shares have risen more than 22 percent in the past three years. One strength is customer loyalty: Two-thirds of business comes through referrals or repeat buyers.
Bill McGill: Bio and Career Highlights Age: 60
Education: McGill earned his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Dayton.
Resume: He was named CEO in January 1998 and assumed the chairmanship two months later. McGill was the principal owner and president of Gulfwind USA, Inc., one of MarineMax's operating subsidiaries, from 1973 until its merger with the company in March 1998.
Corporate culture Board of Directors: With the exception of McGill, MarineMax's board is made up of independent directors.
Stock options: MarineMax does not currently expense stock options but it discloses options in its 10-K reports.
Says McGill: "We think that [disclosing stock options] is very important because we do want clarity to our shareholders. We do recognize the dilution effect on our earnings for those options."
Charity: The company gives to a number of charities, including the Special Olympics and the U.S. Olympic Snow Ski Team.
How I deal with Wall Street
"We had to dispel a couple of things. One is this cyclical effect -- people believe the marine industry is going to be a disaster in a downturn. We have pretty well proven that this is not the case," McGill says.
