ICOMIA/IFBSO Congress 2026 Countdown: Stephanie Don & Jennifer Bender, Ipsos, Speaker Profiles

ICOMIA/IFBSO Congress 2026 Countdown: Stephanie Don & Jennifer Bender, Ipsos, speaker profiles.

Session Title

Future of Recreational Boating: Strategic Insights Shaping the North American Market

Session Description

Commissioned by a coalition of marketing leaders representing the North American boating industry, Discover Boating and National Marine Manufacturers Association partnered with Ipsos to develop a deeper understanding of the evolving dynamics shaping recreational boating across the region.

The initiative was designed to provide a clear view of the current market landscape, identify the trends most likely to influence the future of boating participation, and outline strategic opportunities for the industry to both retain existing boaters and expand engagement among the next generation of enthusiasts.

To support these objectives, Ipsos executed a comprehensive research program that combined qualitative interviews with industry leaders and quantitative research among current and prospective boat owners. The result is a robust, data-driven foundation that illuminates consumer behaviours, motivations, and the most promising pathways for sustainable growth across the recreational boating industry.

Speaker Bios

Stephanie Don

Stephanie brings a decade of hands-on expertise in foundational quantitative research. She architects complex, multi-faceted programs-segmentation, demand landscape, and brand positioning-that illuminate growth pathways and deliver insights adopted enterprise-wide.

Her experience spans consumer, shopper, category, and brand, with a track record of guiding cross-functional stakeholders from hypothesis to activation.

At Ipsos, Stephanie oversees several accounts and strategic business development initiatives, managing a team responsible for end-to-end study execution and day-to-day operations. Known for rigorous methods and crisp storytelling, she turns data into decisions that scale across organizations.

Jennifer Bender

Jennifer is an Associate Partner at Strategy3, the Ipsos growth consultancy. As the head of our global Trends & Foresight practice, she drives the agenda for how Ipsos leverages futures thinking with our clients to create transformative change.

Jennifer combines a creative background with strategic rigour to advise clients on how to envision, embrace, and evolve through change. Her extensive experience in consulting runs the gamut from foresight to segmentations and innovation, and spans a wide range of categories from tech to CPG. Before joining Ipsos, Jennifer led consulting engagements at Kantar Consulting, Kantar Futures, and Sparks & Honey.

Jennifer earned her B.A. in Art and worked in design and marketing before earning an MBA and transitioning to consulting.

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