Zebco Exec Bagby Relishes His Hands-On Role

By David A. Brown
Special to BassFan

When life came full circle, Bob Bagby was intent on making sure his dream did not slip away for a second time. Now nearing his 30th year with Zebco Brands, the engineer from Evansville, Ind. says a greater perspective, bolstered by personal fulfillment and sweetened by priceless intangibles, have him happier than ever.

Quick historical stroll: After earning his mechanical engineering degree from Rose-Hullman Institute of Technology in 1980, Bagby worked at John Deere and then settled at Ford Motor Company for 5 years. Working in his career field was solid, but it wasn’t long before those memories of crappie fishing with his dad and youthful days spent at the family fishing cabin on Barkley Lake started tugging at his sleeve.

“I would sit there and think to myself, if I could ever get into the hunting or fishing industry, it would be my dream job,” Bagby said. “I actually saw an ad in an engineering publication for a job with Zebco. I remember thinking ‘That’s me; I’m going to get that job.’”

He did indeed obtain the gig, but found the daily grind wasn't to his liking. When an opportunity at Purolator arose, Bagby said goodbye to Zebco — but only for a year.

Initially, that move felt like the right fit; but once again, his inner sportsman began rustling the willows. Fortunately, a product management job offered Bagby a second shot at Zebco and this time, he’d set out for the journey that would occupy the rest of his career.

“Initially, it wasn’t matching my expectation; it felt sort of like another engineering job,” he said. “I got this opportunity to go back into the automotive industry and at the time, it felt like the thing I should do because it was a good opportunity.

“But I quickly started missing the outdoors industry. I guess I didn’t appreciate the industry at that time as much as I appreciate it now.”

Personal Impact

Making his home in Tulsa, Okla. with his wife Tammy, Bagby’s the VP of marketing for Zebco Brands. As such, he oversees the marketing services, creative services (package design, website, etc.), industrial design and product management. In 2008, Zebco acquired hunting supply company Badlands for which Bagby provides consulting support.

His plate’s perpetually full, but Bagby’s a hands-on guy who takes great pride in directly influencing that which he manages.

“When you’re in a big company like Ford Motor Company, the impact you make is really hard to see,” he said. “But with a smaller company, a lot of the product lines or marketing campaigns I’ve been involved in, I’ve been personally involved. I’ve authored those, picked the names of the product and had a heavy hand in the process.

“Some of the successes we’ve had, whether it’s the Quantum Smoke line or some of the Zebco 33 redesigns we’ve done, I’ve been intimately involved in those. So you can kind of see in the marketplace the direct results of your efforts. You can see the products in the marketplace, consumers’ reactions to what you’ve done and the success that it has.”

Acknowledging the flip side, Bagby adds this perspective: “I’ve been involved in some not-so-successful things, but it’s the good and the bad. Your fingerprints are all over everything (the company does) and that’s what’s really rewarding about it.”

Woods and Wisdom

Of course, such roles are not without their stress and Bagby finds his much-needed R&R on the water and in the woods. He enjoys the freshwater scene, but he’s big on saltwater — especially his annual trip to Key West, Fla., where pro-staffers R.T. and Chris Trossett give him all the briny bounty he wants.

An avid hunter, he’s twice pursued elk in some of North America’s most inhospitable terrain — bucket-list adventures for which he trained by hiking around his neighborhood with a full gear pack. The big bulls have thus far eluded him, but he’s intent on notching this goal, along with a mule deer and something with horns from Africa.

Hunting, as well as fishing, has provided a meaningful connection between Bagby and those closest to him. Among that inner circle, his pro-staffers hold a deeply-valued position.

Bagby has invested considerable effort into aligning himself and the company with the right individuals; the ones who will shoot straight, represent the company with dependable professionalism and provide the unfiltered assessments that genuinely help advance the R&D process.

“We really do listen to those guys because they intimately know and can tell you what’s right and what’s wrong with a product, so they have no reservations about telling me the truth straight up,” Bagby said. “Also, I’ve reached out to those guys to form other relationships in the industry

“Whether it’s Bill Dance or Gerald Swindle or Kevin VanDam, I’ve become better at what I do because of the relationships I have with those guys.”

Similarly, the outdoor Industry shows from ICAST to SHOT, along with the Bassmaster Classic, help keep him tight with professional colleagues; a vital link for personal and professional growth.

“This really is a pretty tight industry so people tend to have pretty close personal relationships, even among competitors,” Bagby said. “The things that we’ve been able to do to partner with other companies, or have opportunities to do things with our company, start with a relationship.”

Keeping it Close

So, what has kept Bob Bagby engaged and satisfied for all these years?

“It starts with the company I work for and the people I work with,” he said. “The kind of people we’ve attracted, the agency partners we’ve had, the pros we’ve had; it’s always felt like family.

“Even though there are days that you don’t look forward to the job at hand, I always feel like there’s a family of people that will support me. I know a lot of people in other careers that don’t feel that way. I’ve always felt like I have a place to be.”

Perhaps the summation lies in Bagby’s description of the parallel between hunting and fishing.

“I think it’s that attention to detail,” he said. “I enjoy the mental aspects of hunting and trying to figure out a mature deer’s pattern and where he’s going to be at a particular time. It’s just like bass fishing or saltwater fishing, where you’re trying to figure out where the fish are going to be at a particular time.”

Safe to say that Bob Bagby has figured out where he needs to be.