Members of the European Outdoor Group (EOG) elected Monday a new president and agreed to restructure their board.

As the industry itself changes, the European Outdoor Group has felt it necessary to restructure to ensure the appropriate flexibility to accommodate the requirements and demands of its growing membership and the industry itself, said Mark Held, secretary general, of the EOG.

From the existing EOG Board, Albrecht von Dewitz of Vaude, announced his decision to step down from the Board. Rolf Schmid of the Mammut Sports Group, has stepped down as president and Claes Broqvist of Odlo, has stepped down as vice president. Both Schmid and Broqvist will remain on the board as ordinary members and this will aid continuity and ensure the EOG retains experience.

Bernd Kullmann of Deuter has been elected as vice president and Jean-Marc Pambet of Salomon and Eddy Codega of C.A.M.P. have formally joined the board.

With such a diverse membership base, we aim with the board structure to cover as many nationalities, as many company types and as broad an experience base as possible,” said Held. “The objective being to have a board that is truly representative of the membership.

Eddy Codega has in addition also agreed to take over the role of treasurer from Albrecht von Dewitz.

New President
With over 32 years experience working in the European outdoor industry, David Udberg, Managing Director, Lowe Alpine UK Ltd, has been voted in as the new president of the European Outdoor Group. Udberg has worked for Lowe Alpine for the past five years, previously holding international positions with The Mountain Boot Company/Mountain Range and Berghaus.

I am honoured to have been selected as the new President of the European Outdoor Group,” said Udberg. “I would like to say a special thank you to our outgoing President, Rolf Schmid who has done an outstanding job of steering the group from its formation to where it is today. I am delighted that Rolf will remain as a Board member as his input and experience will be invaluable going forward. The EOG exists to serve the interests of its members and to provide a mechanism to promote the interests of the wider outdoor industry, my aim will be to ensure that we continue to fulfil expectations and ensure a successful future for the outdoor industry.

Portfolio Responsibility
To ensure that the board has maximum coverage, each member has agreed to take on a portfolio of responsibility, working on their individual areas with the secretary general. The areas are as follows:

• EOG Strategy, Government Affairs and Trade Bodies-David Udberg
• Retail Community and Trade Fairs-Bernd Kullmann
• Market Research and Statistics-Claes Broqvist
• Sustainability-Jean-Marc Pambet
• Finance and Standards-Eddy Codega
• Marketing and Communications-Rolf Schmid

Assessing how the industry approaches the important area of Corporate Social Responsibility will be the common responsibility of the full board.