Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd. took a big step toward launching its own technical apparel line by Fall 2013 by hiring Patagonia’s Tim Bantle as director of apparel. Bantle is the former business unit director of technical outerwear and equipment at Patagonia.
We are extremely excited to have Tim join our team at Black Diamond, states Peter Metcalf, Black Diamond CEO. His diverse work experience is built upon passion as an athlete and end-user which gives him exactly the sort of sports intimacy that is essential at BD. He is the ideal candidate to head up our apparel team.
Bantle joins Black Diamond as the next step of his 10-year tour de force in the outdoor industry, serving as an outdoor educator with Trails Wilderness School of Jackson, WY, before starting a 7-year-career at Patagonia, where his career progressed quickly and steadily from sales representative to product line manager, and onto business unit director, where he led the team responsible for all technical outerwear.
Graduating Summa Cum Laude from St. Louis University in 2001, Bantle was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and received his B.A. in Philosophy. He is a native of the mid-west.
Black Diamond Equipment is an admired and trusted company with a long commitment to design, innovation and engineering excellence. Applying that same commitment and dedication to apparel will be an outstanding project. Im excited to be joining BD and its stellar team of passionate professionals at such a promising time for the company explains Tim Bantle.
A leading manufacturer of equipment for climbing, mountain sports, and freeride skiing, Black Diamond Equipment emerged from the 1989 bankruptcy of Patagonia predecessor Chouinard Equipment Co. Black Diamond Equipment went public last year through a transaction that also gave it ownership of Gregory Mountain Products. It has since laid out a five-year plan to grow sales at a compounded annual rate of 12.5 percent through acquisitions and by launching its own technical apparel line.
