Birkenstock USA announced the addition of three key members to its senior leadership team. Sandra Colon joins as vice president of sales, Birkenstock USA. Jacqueline Van Dine joins as vice president of merchandising and Karen Ruenitz as creative director for the newly formed Birkenstock Americas organization.
“This is an extraordinary step for Birkenstock, both in the U.S. and throughout the Americas region, as these three seasoned professionals will help elevate this brand to new heights,” said David Kahan, CEO of Birkenstock Americas. “Assembling this team, along with our recent addition of Scott Radcliffe as Vice President of Marketing, allows us to respond powerfully to the increased demand for expanded Birkenstock product throughout the Americas.”
Sandra Colon, Vice President Of Sales
Colon joins Birkenstock as vice president of sales and will lead all sales activity for the U.S. market. She joins Birkenstock following a career primarily focused on athletic footwear, apparel and accessories with Columbia, Speedo and Fila. Colon was most recently with Puma as director, department store sales where she served as a key sales lead for the launch of the highly successful Fenty X Puma collection by Rihanna. Colon will start her new role with Birkenstock on November 1, 2016.
Jacqueline Van Dine, Vice President Of Merchandising
As vice president of merchandising, Van Dine will lead all product development and portfolio management functions. She brings extensive experience in all aspects of footwear creation, innovation, development, manufacturing and merchandising. A key focus will be creating exciting, brand-relevant styling that keeps Birkenstock fresh in the marketplace. Van Dine began her career at Birkenstock before joining Keen. After Keen, she co-founded the outdoor footwear brand Ahnu and was part of the executive team that led its acquisition by Deckers Corporation.
Karen Ruenitz, Creative Director
Ruenitz is Birkenstock’s first-ever creative director based in the U.S. As product design lead for the Americas, Ruenitz will leverage her creative vision and experience to bring the Birkenstock brand to a new level. Prior to joining Birkenstock, Ruenitz held senior design roles with Tory Burch, 3.1 Philip Lim and Helmut Lang. Most recently, she led design for Loeffler Randall.
Colon and Ruenitz will be based in Birkenstock’s new office and showroom in New York City. The Soho space is scheduled to open in early 2017 and will serve as a geographic bridge between Birkenstock’s global headquarters in Rahms, Germany and its Americas headquarters in Novato, CA.
“Birkenstock is in a very special place today. We are staying true to our DNA of delivering the most comfortable footwear on the planet to an ever-increasing loyal fanbase. At the same time, we are building on incredible momentum to become the next great global consumer lifestyle brand,” said Kahan.
