Wolverine World Wide’s Outdoor Group appointed Bill Dodge as global GM of its Patagonia Footwear brand. Dodge will oversee all business operations, product development, marketing and sales initiatives. 


Prior to joining Patagonia Footwear, he was GM of GoLite Footwear for Timberland.  Additionally he was sales and marketing manager for the Dunham brand at New Balance and director of footwear for Salomon North America. Dodge is an active outdoor enthusiast and a life long environmental steward.

“Patagonia is a company I have always respected and am excited to lead the growing Footwear business,” said Dodge. “The aim is to blend my experience into this very strong team and continue to grow the business with great footwear and efficient, respectful business practices. We will build the ‘best product with least harm’ and continue to lighten our environmental footprint in as many ways as we can.”


“Ive known and worked closely with Bill for many years in the outdoor and ski industries,” said Casey Sheehan, CEO of Patagonia. “His deep footwear experience, love of outdoor sports, great integrity and sense of humor make him a perfect fit for this position and I look forward to seeing Bill make the Patagonia Footwear initiative even more successful.”


Throne kicked upstairs to head global marketing


Craig Throne, original general manager of Patagonia Footwear, will take on the role of VP of global marketing, leading the marketing efforts of Wolverine World Wide’s Outdoor Group that includes both Merrell and Patagonia Footwear.  This includes global brand management, leadership of product line managers and marketing initiatives. Prior to his role with Patagonia Footwear, Throne led the sales and marketing efforts for Wolverine World Wide’s Outdoor Group within Asia/Pacific.

In its second full year at market, Patagonia Footwear will further develop its internal marketing, product and sales teams to support the company’s growth. Whitney Conner will continue as brand manager working closely with the Patagonia marketing team on all levels of U.S. and international marketing and brand support. Wendy Kindy will be assistant product manager as the liaison between marketing and product development and design.


New rep agencies appointed


Additionally, Jamie Barbor, national sales manager, recently appointed two independent sales representatives to oversee sales in key territories.  With nine years of sales experience with Merrell, Brian Walton will cover California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii for Patagonia Footwear.  Bill Gange will oversee sales in the Northern Central States including Illinois, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and north of Missouri.  Both have many years of independent sales experience in the outdoor and footwear industries as well as a strong passion for protecting the environment.

Patagonia Footwear is a brand within the Outdoor Group, a division of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. that also includes Merrell.