American Outdoor Brands Inc. announced that Curtis Smith has been named chief marketing officer. In this newly created role, Smith will lead the company’s marketing, brand management, creative, e-commerce, and customer service teams.

“Curtis has amassed significant experience within the outdoor industry and managed strategic categories for some of the most widely recognized outdoor product brands in the world, including Coleman, Campingaz, Bushnell, BUBBA, and Crimson Trace,” said Brian Murphy, president and CEO of American Outdoor Brands. “Since joining us in 2017, he has played a pivotal role in helping to develop and implement our brand strategy, most notably our unique Dock & Unlock strategy, a key element in setting the growth trajectory for our 20 brands geared toward the outdoor enthusiast. He has also led our successful initiative to establish an online presence for each of our brands, an accomplishment that positioned us to deliver meaningful growth across our traditional, and e-commerce channels throughout the pandemic. I am excited to welcome Curtis to this new executive leadership role and look forward to his continuing contributions to our success.”

Smith joined the company as a divisional vice president of marketing in October 2017, prior to its spin-off as American Outdoor Brands, Inc. in August 2020. Earlier, he was a global product lane director at Vista Outdoor Inc. Smith also served as director of global product line management and global category manager at the Coleman Company.

Smith said, “As a lifelong, outdoor enthusiast, I am honored to lead our talented, creative and ambitious team of experts as we bring our diverse portfolio of highly authentic brands to a growing base of consumers. Together, our team has created an intense and robust brand positioning process, uniquely designed to breathe life into each brand, establish a framework for where each brand has permission to play, and formalize the appropriate guidelines for differentiating the brands within the broader competitive landscape. I look forward to the future, as we continue the exciting journey that will take our brands from Niche to Known.”

Logo courtesy American Outdoor Brands