Keen Footwear has announced that Angel Martinez has joined the company as named president and Jim van Dine has signed on as National Sales Manager.
Angel Martinez, the 1997 Footwear News Man of the Year, is the former vice president of global marketing for Reebok, but he is best known in the footwear industry for the dramatic turnaround he directed at Rockport, where he served as President and CEO.
Martinez discovered Keen by accident at the WSA Show. Intrigued by the design, he introduced himself to Martin Keen and began the conversation that led to his joining the company. “I was beginning to feel that there was a lack of freshness and excitement in the footwear industry,” says Martinez, “Keen addresses the lack of authentic performance brands in the market.”
Jim van Dine had most recently been sales director at Vans. Prior to that he had been with Deckers, responsible for the sales and marketing of the Simple, Ugg and Teva brands. He also worked in marketing and Specialty retail management at Reebok, where he first worked with Martinez.
Martin Keen, 38, the founder and designer, has designed shoes for Saucony, K-Swiss, and as the head of the Keen Design Group, for Etonic, Rockport, Sperry, Clarks, Bata and The North Face. He designed and launched the Nautica footwear line and served as senior design director for Tommy Hilfiger.
