PORTLAND: Columbia Sportswear Company has announced a series of senior leadership changes executing on transition plans, supporting the Company’s omni-channel plans for growth and unlocking digital opportunities.
Thomas B. Cusick has announced his intention to retire from the Company. In February 2021 Mr. Cusick will step down from his role as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and transition to a part-time role with the Company, assisting with operational matters, including significant information technology and supply chain initiatives to ensure optimization of these key strategic investments, until his retirement from the Company in the second half of 2021.
Mr. Cusick joined Columbia in September 2002 as Corporate Controller and served as Chief Financial Officer from 2009 until assuming his most recent role of Chief Operating Officer in 2017.
“Tom has been a true source of leadership over the past 18 years. During his tenure at Columbia, Tom has helped lead the Company from net sales of approximately $800 million in 2002 to over $3 billion in 2019. He will be sorely missed, but we are thankful for the time and energy he has devoted to elevating the Company to what it is today,” said Timothy P. Boyle, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer.
In accordance with pre-established transition plans, Lisa A. Kulok, Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain Operations and Manufacturing, will become Executive Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer, and Jim A. Swanson, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will become Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, both reporting directly to Tim Boyle.
Brent Beeson, Vice President, Apparel Manufacturing, will become Senior Vice President, Manufacturing, reporting directly to Ms. Kulok.
“I have worked closely with Lisa and Jim for many years and have complete confidence in their leadership abilities as we navigate through the changes in our business model. I look forward to continuing to partner with them through the transition,” said Mr. Cusick.
In addition, the Company has made changes to its senior leadership organization to support the Company’s omni-channel plans for growth. Consumers are driving a rapid pace of change in the marketplace, which has been accelerated by the pandemic. The Company believes these leadership changes will enable it to meet consumers’ needs in today’s marketplace, with frictionless transitions in process flows and regional alignment of goals.
“We are announcing changes today to capitalize on Columbia’s omni-channel growth potential by aligning our organizational structure globally to accelerate our business transformation with a focus on eCommerce and digital,” said Tim Boyle. “The time for change has never been better and we see real opportunity with these changes.”
Franco Fogliato, Executive Vice President, Americas General Manager, will lead the Company in focusing on the omni-channel experience by transitioning to Executive Vice President, Global Omni-Channel.
This leadership role will oversee all Columbia brand sales in direct markets globally by working to support and build strong commercial channel teams that will align to bring a robust brand message to all the direct markets. As a result of this change, Vice President and General Manager for EMEA, Matthieu Schegg, will report directly to Mr. Fogliato, as will Senior Vice President for Asia Direct, Peter Rauch.
In addition to leading all direct markets, Mr. Fogliato will facilitate a close partnership among channel leaders to share best practices and support global Columbia brand goals. eCommerce is a growing focus for the Company, and it has invested significantly to advance digital capabilities in this critical channel.
To support Columbia brand eCommerce strategies, Patricia Higgins, Vice President, eCommerce, will transition to Senior Vice President, e-Commerce, reporting directly to Mr. Fogliato. Ms. Higgins will continue to directly manage the North America eCommerce operations, while expanding her scope globally to provide strategic guidance and best practices to enhance the Company’s global Columbia brand eCommerce businesses.
“Franco has been instrumental in driving growth in Europe and in the US, and I believe he will now be enabled to do so on a more global scale,” said Mr. Boyle.
To further enhance the Company’s digital capabilities across the enterprise, the Company is creating a new Chief Digital Information Officer role, which will report directly to Tim Boyle. This role will also serve to replace the Chief Information Officer position when Michael Hirt retires in April 2021. In addition, the Columbia brand is searching for a Chief Marketing Officer, with an emphasis on enhancing marketing and social engagement in a digital marketplace.
“The leadership changes we are making today are intended to accelerate sustainable growth for the organization. We will continue to focus on our strategic priorities to: drive global brand awareness and sales growth through increased, focused demand creation investments; enhance consumer experience and digital capabilities in all of our channels and geographies; expand and improve global Direct-to-Consumer operations with supporting processes and systems; and invest in our people and optimize our organization across our portfolio of brands. We believe that these changes will make Columbia stronger in the future,” said Mr. Boyle.
Columbia Sportswear Company has assembled a portfolio of brands for active lives, making it a leader in the global active lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment industry. Founded in 1938 in Portland, Oregon, the company’s brands are today sold in approximately 90 countries. www.columbia.com
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