Burton has hired Amy Buckalter as the Vice President of Global Sales to oversee the company's sales division, which includes the Burton, R.E.D., Anon, Gravis and Analog brands. In her new role, Amy will head the global sales team, direct Burton's extensive domestic and international rep force, create new sales initiatives and work towards increasing Burton's leading market share.
Formerly the Women's Commercial Director at Nike, Amy comes to Burton with a wide range of experience in the action sports and outdoor industries. At Nike, Amy integrated sales, retail and marketplace management strategies and processes to maximize the company's commercial opportunities and facilitate growth of all segments of the business, including the highly visible and successful Nike Goddess initiative.
Prior to working at Nike, Amy was Vice President and General Manager at K2 for six years where she achieved numerous high profile successes for the company. Featured in “Best in Class” by Sportstyle and named an industry “Pace Maker” by Sporting Goods Business, Amy was the #1 profit contributor among all four K2 sport categories for five consecutive years. She accomplished unprecedented, consistently strong financial performance for her K2 category. In addition, Amy managed an intensive selection and hiring process of the sales force, mapped sales channel distribution and expansion phases and established pricing and program strategies. She also cultivated top producing and highly sensitive key account and primary influencer relationships for optimal results that earned numerous Vendor of the Year honorary awards.
Amy's list of accomplishments extends beyond K2 to Ryka, a performance footwear brand with a women's emphasis. As Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, Amy had close interaction with the Board of Directors, CFO, Wall Street and the investment community. She rebuilt the organization's infrastructure and operational base, and re-established brand vision to reverse direction of downward spiraling financials. Amy drove Ryka to profitability with increased cash flow and prepared it for merger/acquisition positioning.
“At Burton, Amy's main priorities will be developing a multi-brand sales strategy and focusing on retailer relationships and partnerships,” says Laurent Potdevin, President of Burton. “Amy's wealth of accomplishments and her vision for growth will be instrumental in achieving these goals and initiatives. Her background and experience make her an ideal person to head our global sales team. We are very happy to have her on board with us.”
