Soundings Trade Only hosted 120 attendees for its Leadership Summit earlier this week at the Tampa Marriott Water Street, prior to the opening of the International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference in Tampa, Fla.

The Sept. 27 summit featured an address by Balaji Krishnamurthy, who has run a variety of service and manufacturing-based, private and public technology businesses. He holds several degrees, including a Ph.D. in computer science.

The two-hour session with Krishnamurthy focused on intentional leadership, building corporate culture, workforce empowerment, assessing employee performance, and the principles of stewardship, honesty and integrity, purpose and vision.

Krishnamurthy shared anecdotes from his experiences as an “intentional leader” and how “fear of empowerment is fear of the empowered.”

“Leadership is the core of an organization,” he said. “Intentional leaders have a clear leadership agenda.”

Krishnamurthy added that leaders have to “shift thinking from management of performance to stewardship of growth” and have a responsibility “to protect, preserve and enhance assets that don’t belong to you but have been temporarily entrusted to you.”

The summit concluded with a one-hour panel discussion moderated by Krishnamurthy. Panelists included Brett McGill, CEO and president of MarineMax; Bill Yeargin, CEO of Correct Craft; Martin Bjuve, president of Volvo Penta of the Americas; Jeffrey Poole, president of Siren Marine; Robert Oswell, founder and CEO of Roswell Marine and president of the Water Sports Industry Association; and Brett Dibkey, president of the Advanced Systems Group at Brunswick Corp.

During the discussion, Krishnamurthy asked the panelists what they’ve learned during the Covid-19 pandemic.

• Oswell: “A willingness to change, listen and execute.”

• McGill: “I have a new outlook and sensitivity post-Covid.”

• Bjuve: “I’ve learned to trust employees remotely.”

Added Yeargin: “We try to create an atmosphere where people are comfortable. [We] invest in our team [for a] highly assertive, highly cooperative environment.”

IBEX continues through Thursday.

The Leadership Summit was sponsored by Advanced Systems Group of Brunswick Corp., Correct Craft, Roswell Marine, Siren Marine and Volvo Penta of the Americas.