Motocaddy hired Mark Kuryak as president and general manager in the Americas to drive sales and awareness of the electric golf caddy brand across both continents.
With over two decades of upper-level management and sales experience across sporting goods and lifestyle brands, Kuryak is responsible for maximizing on-course, big box retailers and online sales opportunities for the electric caddies and complementary golf bag brand.
Motocaddy launched its North American operation in 2019, offering U.S.- based sales, service and distribution.
Kuryak joins Motocaddy from Easton Hockey, where he was senior vice president of Global Sales, Operations and Customer Service. Most recently, he was director of sales of eCommerce and Channel Strategy for Easton Diamond Sports both based in California.
Joining OGIO in 2009 as Global VP and GM in its Lifestyle, Endurance and Motorsport sector, Kuryak was the vice president of sales at Rawlings Sporting Goods. He began his career at Easton Sports, Inc. building the hockey division and helping launch products such as the 1-Piece Graphite Hockey Stick, today’s largest retail hockey category.
Kuryak leads Motocaddy’s operations in the Americas following last year’s expansion by opening a new 6,000-square-foot warehouse in Vista, CA for warehousing products, provides office space for the brand’s U.S.-based sales and customer service team, in addition to Motocaddy’s National Service Centre in Grand Rapids, MI.
Motocaddy CEO John Helas commented: “This is an incredibly important appointment for the brand as we continue to establish our credentials in the world’s biggest golf market. Mark brings a wealth of sales and leadership experience that will be crucial in sustaining the momentum that we’ve gained since launching stateside almost three years ago. I want to thank Roger Teat, who has returned to Cobra Puma, for his efforts in getting the brand to where it is today, and I’m excited to welcome Mark to lead the next chapter, as we believe that the potential for growth is huge.”
To determine the level of interest in walking on a golf course, Motocaddy recently surveyed North American golfers and found that several health and performance benefits were influential in using a powered caddy, with “48 percent of golfers saying they enjoy being able to walk without the strain of carrying a bag; 43 percent noted that golf becomes more enjoyable with an electric caddy; and 28 percent of golfers attributed an improvement to their fitness.”
Thanks to powered caddies, American golfers can also play more golf and continue to play when restricted by fatigue or injury. Over “one-third, 39 percent, of golfers said that they were playing more golf due to owning an electric caddy, with 49 percent of those surveyed wishing they had switched to one sooner.”
Motocaddy sells electric and push carts in more than 40 countries worldwide and set up a subsidiary in the U.S. following a company acquisition by Ethos Partners in 2019. It has sold “more than 600,000 electric walking carts since its founding in 2004 and is also the UK’s market leader in push models and cart bags designed to fit the carts securely.”
Photo courtesy Motocaddy
