Clarus Corp., the parent of Black Diamond, Sierra Bullets and PIEPS, promoted John Walbrecht to president.
Walbrecht has been with Clarus for nearly 18 months, serving as president of the company’s Outdoor Group. He brings to the company more than 30 years of executive leadership experience from several strong active outdoor brands. Prior to Black Diamond, Walbrecht served as president and CEO of Mountain Hardwear, a manufacturer of high-tech active outdoor clothing, equipment and camping accessories and a subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear. Prior to that, he served as president and CEO of Fenix Outdoor, an international group of outdoor clothing and equipment brands. He has also served in senior leadership roles at Spyder Active Sports, Timberland and Dr. Martens.
Clarus Executive Chairman Warren Kanders commented: “During the 18 months John has been with us, he has instilled a clear strategic focus throughout the organization and across the industry, reinforcing Black Diamond as one of the most disruptive brands in the outdoor space. We welcome John to the executive team and look forward to his contributions as we enter the next chapter of our growth.
“To this end, we are highly focused on integrating and growing the Sierra business, and we’ve made substantial progress in this pursuit. It is also important to reiterate that we remain fully committed to a long-term capital acquisition strategy. As we evaluate further opportunities, we now intend to be focused on the outdoor and consumer industries. We believe straying too far from companies in this space would under-utilize the great people and significant capabilities and goodwill we’ve built in these industries at both the Clarus corporate and individual brand levels. So, given this focus, and John’s well-established and diverse background in the consumer industry, today’s promotion is a strong commitment to this strategy.”
Walbrecht holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Brigham Young University, a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from the University of Maryland and understudies in International Trade and Finance at Cambridge University – Trinity College.
“I would like to express my appreciation to our board of directors for their confidence in me and supporting the future we are planning to create,” said Walbrecht. “Black Diamond has strong momentum in the marketplace today by committing to enhanced product development and design, a clear and consistent marketing strategy and being a disciplined business partner with our retail base. We expect to apply the same playbook at Sierra and future opportunities, and I am looking forward to seeing our mission through.”
Clarus’ primary business is as a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of outdoor equipment and lifestyle products focused on the climb, ski, mountain and sport categories. The company’s products are principally sold under the Black Diamond, Sierra and PIEPS brand names through specialty and online retailers, distributors and original equipment manufacturers throughout the U.S. and internationally.
Photo courtesy Black Diamond
