COVER STORY
A NEW DIRECTION WITH COREY DYKSTRA
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COVER STORY
IBI ’s exclusive interview with the incoming CEO of Brunswick Bowling.
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By Jim Goodwin
hen Corey Dykstra leaves his role as Brunswick’s CFO and vice president of consumer and aftermarket products to take the top job of CEO of Brunswick Bowling, he will be ready to hit the ground running. At 40, he is one of the youngest to earn such a position. Corey has a passion for the industry as strong as his predecessors and has big plans for Brunswick. He and his team are anxious to show Brunswick customers and others in the industry around the world that the Brunswick is a dynamic company that will play a pivotal role in transforming the global industry.
® What is your best memory of the past two years? My best memory of the past two years has been the opportunity to grow the relationships both from the business standpoint and the personal standpoint. It has been a great group to work with. We talk about business strategy a lot, but we also have nice family discussions and outside the-walls-ofBrunswick discussions. Maybe the best part has been the feeling that I have friends on the other end of the phone and at the table in the board meetings that I can call on for advice at any time. ® Brent
Perrier said in our initial interview two years ago that it would be business as usual, yet Brunswick would be quicker to react and more nimble under private ownership. Has that proven to be true? How? Those don’t really go hand in hand do they – business as usual, yet more nimble. It has definitely been more nimble within the four walls here at Brunswick Bowling, and I’m hoping that as we pass our second anniversary [of private ownership] our customers will start to see that. I hope our customers start to see us as a small business, because we are like they are. We are no longer part of a $4-5 billion dollar corporation. I want our customers to see us as an entrepreneurial small business. Our ownership group is happy with the returns for the first two years, and I think they are excited enough, in fact I know they are excited enough, to invest more because they have told me that. They would like to see us take some risks to help grow not only Brunswick but the industry as well. ® Has your strategic plan changed in the past year compared to year one under the new ownership?
The reality is that it is starting to change now. We are starting to see a little more change in terms of growth – how do we grow in the entertainment space? How do we grow the industry? How
do we find more investors? We are now moving more in the growth mode than we did in the business-as-usual mode. For two years, I think we did a very good job of operating the business as usual, and now it is time to put that on steroids a little bit. ® How
is the process different today in terms of new products and marketing than it was under corporate ownership? I would say we are more willing to invest in new products today than we were towards the end of our corporate ownership. Most of us got just as excited about new product development then as we do now. Unfortunately, we were in a time where it was a challenging market for the boat business, and when you are a part of that large corporation, financial implications came from the boat side that made it a little more challenging for us. Now we are a stand-alone, small business, and if we want to invest in new products like we always have, we just do it, and the board is generally supportive. In fact, it is pretty much a given, and we really don’t get into that kind of detail with the board. They like to hear about the features and benefits because they are interested in the bowling business and industry. There is definitely more appetite for quick investment than in the past.
® When
did you first know that Brent was stepping down and that you would be promoted to his position? I’ve had the pleasure of working with Brent for the past 12 years, and over those years, he has said at various times, ‘I’m going to retire in one year,’ or ‘I’m going to retire in five years,’ and he has been saying that for the past 10 years. It was probably six or eight months ago that I had a good feel that Brent was ready. He is an avid golfer, and he loves to travel around the world, so I felt he was nearing the point where he wanted to do that IBI
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COVER STORY more. Brent is as loyal to the industry and to Brunswick as anyone has ever been. He would not be doing this if he were not confident in how the company is running, and I think that confidence has increased in the past couple of years. ® What
did you learn from Brent, and what is ahead for you and your management team and the Brunswick brand in the next couple of years? Brent has been a good mentor. His management style is very collaborative. He has always sought input from across the company, and we have enjoyed that. Brent has been with Brunswick for many years, and he has been ingrained into the corporate culture. I think we will now shift to an entrepreneurial culture where employees feel empowered to make more decisions. I think they have a passion for Brunswick already, and we would like to see that passion come through even more in an entrepreneurial atmosphere; small business oriented versus the corporate culture we have had for so many years. You can’t just snap your fingers and make it happen. My leadership style will be similar to Brent in the sense of collaboration. I hope to get around the various parts of the company. I enjoy doing that, and I think it will pay us dividends. I think our people will be really excited about a more aggressive growth strategy rather than the corporate strategy they have seen where we just steadily improve earnings every year without taking much risk. I think all of our team, around the world, will be excited when we roll out the ‘Let’s grow together’ message. ® How will your experience of the past seven years as CFO of aftermarket and consumer products help you in the CEO position?
Well, I certainly learned in those years, as well as the five previous years, that relationships are extremely important. I’ve had the opportunity to travel around the world and form relationships with a ton of incredible people. Brent has been instrumental in helping me form those relationships – my teammates at Brunswick, our loyal distributor partners, industry leaders, and I also have some great friendships with our competitors. I have been fortunate to work with Brent in getting to know all of these people, and he has helped me know and appreciate the history of Brunswick and the industry. ® In your travels you have learned a lot about bowling in different world markets. Which areas do you see having the most potential for growth in the coming years?
I have spent a lot of time in Japan and Europe. I look forward to spending more time traveling the world; maybe a little more in Asia because I think there are quite a few markets there that could be a great fit for bowling. The Asia territory is certainly ripe for growth. ® I know that Brunswick keeps up with all of the new centers opening. Do you see a trend of one type doing better than another? For example, the new moviebowls versus hybrids, FECs or boutiques, etc. 30
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Brent Perrier passes the torch to Corey Dykstra.
More than keep up with it, we are leading the industry in new center development. Essentially, all of the new builds are hybrid, FEC or boutique; and frankly there is room for any combination of those models. We are starting to see it in Europe and other areas. In terms of performance, the key is choosing and right-sizing the business model based on the market. We have highly successful operators in each of the new business models. ® What is your take on the new moviebowl concept?
Actually, we have been one of the leaders in that area. I continually mention the word growth, and it is really what we would like to do more of. Movies have been outstanding for us – we have decided to start attending movie conventions; we started building those relationships almost ten years ago. It is exciting, it’s a new venue, and they are generally very good operators. We would like to see other adjacent type industries consider adding bowling as well. You could probably list a hundred that already have four walls built that could add bowling to draw a new customer base. ® Where
else might we see bowling partnering with other businesses? Restaurant companies are looking at bowling. We have also done a couple of hotels, a couple of cruise ships, and we have a few others that we can target. continued on page 34...
COVER STORY ...continued from page 30 ® What inspires you and brings passion to your job? It is hard to narrow it down. I would say the team here at Brunswick inspires me. The amount of passion that they bring to the company is probably the most inspirational thing for me. It is hard not to get excited about them. ® Do you see any cultures around the world that have business practices that might also work in the U.S.A.?
I certainly think that culture is the foundation of a company. I talked about it earlier: Brunswick Bowling has gone from a large corporate culture to a small business culture. We have had that corporate feel, but we are transitioning to the entrepreneurial feel. I hope we see it happen more quickly. This is a fun business. Actually Brent said this to me a long time ago, ‘Have fun, and don’t worry about making mistakes. It is bowling, not brain surgery.’ I would like to see that fun attitude show itself maybe a little more than it does today. More specifically, let’s take Round One for example – they do bowling in Japan a little differently than we do, but now, even they are expanding to the U.S.A. We have a great partnership with Round One in Japan, and now here as they build their U.S.A. business. They are a prime example of doing it the right way but maybe not the same way many are used to. ® Aside from Brent and your Brunswick team, what motivates and pushes you to succeed?
Outside of bowling, my wife Michele and all five of our kids are an inspiration every day. Each one has a passion for life. They all have unbelievable work ethics, and the kids all have Michele’s caring personality. They all have unique personalities and talent, but they all share the same hard work and passion. It is fun to see that in them. I spend a lot of time coaching with my kids, mostly basketball. The other sports I am generally an observer. We have a lot of family pick-up games where that passion comes through sometimes to a fault. We have some pretty intense competition. The Dykstra family.
® The kids’ names and ages? Cody is 22, Zeke just turned 14; Cadence is 12, Elisha is 10, and Mylee is 9. She is our little dancer and gymnast and probably lives life fuller than anybody I know in the entire world. Michele and I were high school sweethearts. We have been together since a little before high school. We both got degrees from Western Michigan University. Hers is in education, so she has spent time teaching as well as time at home with the kids. Currently, she is back to teaching almost full time. I majored in accounting, so that fits in with what I have been doing at Brunswick, and before that, I did public accounting for almost five years. We graduated from college in 2000. ® Generally speaking, most CEOs are visionaries, not accounting types. What is your philosophy?
I think you need both. Actually, those who know my background say I’m not at all [like] an accountant. I have always migrated toward numbers, so I certainly have focus there, but we have a really strong accounting team, so I will let them focus on numbers while I focus on the culture and how to grow the business. Numbers don’t lie, and it helps to understand that investors look at them first, but they also like to roll up their sleeves and get into the operations of the business, marketing strategy, product management and all the rest. ® What types of books do you read, and is there one you are working on now?
Yes. Unfortunately, I’ve been pretty busy lately, so I have not been able to pick it up, but on my desk is a copy of The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins. It is about how to get up to speed quicker and smarter in a new position like mine. I wish I had the cliff notes version. ® Are you a bowler? Yes, but I’m not a great bowler. Some say to me, ‘You look athletic, so you probably could be a good bowler.’ I think that is their polite way to tell me I am not a good bowler. Which is OK! I need to spend more time working on it. My family and I go to the local centers all the time. It is one of our favorite activities together. A couple of the kids got into the Kids Bowl Free program, which is great. We have a blast every time, which is usually three times a week in the summer. Usually they bring friends, so we have roped a lot of kids into bowling that did not have an interest before.
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COVER STORY ® Brunswick has been involved in the Olympic effort for decades. Is the Olympic bowling effort still a priority for Brunswick?
Yes. We have spent a lot of time and resources on it, and we will continue to do that. Others in the company have been more involved than I. We have worked with Kegel, Storm, Ebonite, as well as the folks at USBC, BPAA and World Bowling with Kevin Dornberger. That will continue, and we will keep trying to make some progress. Everyone was very disappointed that it did not ¢
A FANTASTIC CAREER
Brent Perrier bows out after 37 years In 1980, when Brent Perrier started his career in the bowling business, the industry was a much different place. Brunswick was being run by a guy named Brooks Abernathy. Jack Reichert would come along a couple of years later. Perrier actually started with the Perry Austin brand, which was acquired by Brunswick. “Brunswick carried my seniority over, which was great for me,” said Perrier. When he officially leaves Brunswick and turns the CEO's keys over to Corey Dykstra around August 1, it will be an emotional departure. He looks forward to spending much more time on the golf course. At the same time, he will miss the team of professionals that have shared ups and downs in the everchanging bowling world. “It has been a real roller coaster ride,” said Perrier, “but I will always cherish the time spent with my Brunswick family and the relationships with friends all across the globe. It has been my honor, and I can’t imagine a career spent anywhere else.” Perrier, 63, became Brunswick president 12 years ago, and he has attended the annual BPAA Convention and Bowl Expo for 36 years. Nashville will be remembered as special for many reasons, including seeing old friends for perhaps the last time. Peter Hamilton was president of Brunswick Bowling before Perrier, and he served as a mentor just as Perrier has to Corey Dykstra. Perrier says being named president of Brunswick was the highlight of his career. “Corey is an incredible young man,” said Perrier. “We have worked closely together, especially since he became CFO seven years ago, and I have never seen a better CFO. I consider him not only a close colleague but a good friend. I think he will do a fantastic job for the company. Bowling has changed so much and we have made many adjustments that resulted in our success, but I think the best is yet to come because of young leaders like Corey.” He may be retiring, but it is likely we will see more of Brent Perrier, as he remains an advisor to the board of directors for the foreseeable future. Or we may run into him on one of his favorite golf courses. 36
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happen in Japan, but that does not mean anyone will drop the effort for the future. ® Aside from earning the CEO position, what has been your biggest accomplishment at Brunswick?
It is probably at a macro level. We have gone through so many changes and the pain of re-structuring this business over and over as markets changed. We have entered and exited product categories, and we are constantly fine tuning to the point where we are in a great spot today. I would characterize that, and being a key part of it, as probably the most significant accomplishment from when I started at Brunswick 12 years ago. We are a much healthier company, and I feel really good about that. ® How does Brunswick rank in the Gladstone/ BluArc/Capitala portfolio? It certainly seems to be one of the most recognizable brands.
And don’t forget the management team now has some investment in the company as well. As far as the investment groups, they have told us that they invest for the long term in industry leading companies that have sustainable competitive advantages. They are with us because we have a strong brand and a strong management team, and they feel like we have a unique opportunity to transform the industry as an entertainment leader. As far as where we fall compared to others, I think it is safe to say we fall a little on the larger side for them and, as you said, certainly an iconic brand. ® Have the board meetings gone well so far? How
often are they held? Yes. They are held quarterly, but we talk on the phone monthly. They are between our management team and board members, and they have been very collaborative, very operational. They like to discuss strategy, but they also get into practical discussions about how the strategy is implemented. As I said before, it is a great group. I enjoy the discussions about bowling and about families and life. At least one meeting a year, I try to take them to one of our new bowling centers. We have done that three times already, and it has been a great experience for all of us, so we will keep it going. ❖
Jim Goodwin is the founder and president of the Bowling News Network and a former president and life member of the International Bowling Media Association.