Columbia Sportswear Company appointed industry veteran Joe Vernachio to serve as president of its Mountain Hardwear brand, effective April 3, 2017.
In his new role, Vernachio will be based at Mountain Hardwear’s headquarters in Richmond, CA, where he will lead all aspects of the brand’s global brand positioning, go-to-market strategies and execution across all distribution channels.
Columbia Sportswear Company President Bryan Timm, to whom Vernachio will report, commented, “The Mountain Hardwear brand has a rich history of serving the high-performance needs of alpinists who challenge themselves and their equipment in extreme conditions. Joe has spent his career building high-performance brands that appeal to passionate athletic and outdoor consumers. Joe brings a unique combination of product creation and global operations expertise to his new role, making him ideally suited to the role of brand president. We are proud to welcome Joe to the leadership team and look forward to working with him to unlock the global potential of the Mountain Hardwear brand, which plays an important role within Columbia Sportswear Company’s portfolio of brands that connect active people with their passions.”
“I have always admired Mountain Hardwear as a high-quality, premium, technical brand and believe it holds significant untapped growth potential,” Vernachio said. “I look forward to leading the Mountain Hardwear team in Richmond and working with our teammates in Portland and around the world to provide performance products that meet or exceed the expectations of alpinists everywhere.”
Vernachio brings to the role a 30-year career in the outdoor and athletic industry. Since 2011 he has served as global vice president of product and operations at The North Face in Alameda, CA. Prior to that he served for six years as chief operating officer and senior vice president of product and sourcing for Spyder Active Sports, four years as vice president of product for 120-store Canadian retail chain Roots and 12 years in product development and category management with Nike Inc., during which he helped launch the company’s branded outerwear program. He began his career in 1987 as a product manager at Chouinard Equipment.
Photo courtesy Mountain Hardwear
