Backcountry.com has selected veteran technology professional, Jim Kane, to fill the newly created position of Chief Technology Officer. As the company’s CTO, Kane will be responsible for all technical operations ranging from the storefront to communications and network infrastructure.

The new position will consolidate technical duties that many company employees were handling before Kane’s addition. “This is a big step for a growing company,” says Kane. “Backcountry.com is organizing the chaos a growing business often experiences.”

Kane has a rich information technology background. Working at Answerthink Inc. for seven years, he was responsible for growing the Oracle Solutions practice in the Western Region. This entailed helping customers such as E*TRADE Group Inc., Mattel, General Electric, The Wet Seal, FranklinCovey, and Nextel redefine business processes and advising them on business decisions to maximize the benefits of their technology investment.

“In terms of IT infrastructure and new ideas, we are in a really good position to move forward,” said Jim Holland, Backcountry.com co-founder and CEO. “The missing piece was the high-level technology expert to prioritize, and sift through products and partners that can help us grow. Jim Kane brings all that and more to the table.”

Kane’s CTO position will help Backcountry.com grow in an expanding but competitive market. Heightened demand on the company’s IT department has created the urgent need to address new ideas and initiatives. Kane, with his business experience and agile mind, is confident he can streamline and accelerate the implementation to keep Backcountry.com in the lead.

“Backcountry.com is a great environment,” says Kane. “When you walk into the GE’s or the Emerson’s of the world, you have huge companies with enormous barriers preventing new initiatives from being acted on and implemented quickly. At Backcountry.com we are in a position to act quickly on tactical initiatives that are aligned with, and contribute to us achieving our strategic goals. Jim (Holland, CEO) and John (Bresee, Co-Founder) have been excellent at remaining on the forefront of e-commerce practices and we want to continue to be that cutting-edge e-commerce company.”

Kane’s first big challenge lies in becoming more tightly integrated with their vendors. Next, the warehouse and call-center will be moved and expanded. Kane will also lead an effort to evaluate the existing business processes to maximize the efficiencies and customer experience while reducing costs, an area he excels at.

Kane believes that Backcountry.com is in a great position to grow. “This is a dynamic organization with an endless supply of great ideas that we will continue to leverage. These ideas, coupled with our employee’s passion and energy are the foundation and fuel for our continued growth and allow us to quickly capitalize on new business opportunities; implement site enhancements; improve our business processes; and to meet the continued needs of our customers.”