Five Ten, the climbing and bike shoe specialist acquired by Adidas in November 2011, has restructured its European sales and marketing team. The new team will work out of new offices based in Herzogenaurach, Germany as of Aug. 1, 2012.
Leading the team as European Sales Director will be Jeremie Blondel, formerly Lifestyle & Kids Unit Director at Reebok. Raised in Chamonix, Blondel brings to the position experience as a downhill mountain bike racer and climber. Prior to joining the adidas Group, Jeremie’s experience covers positions in Key Account/Buying in the outdoor and snowsports industries as well as various positions at Nike ACG France. Christoph Boesl, also an avid outdoor enthusiast with a strong biking background, has been tapped for the newly-formed position of Five Ten Europe Senior Marketing Manager. Boesl worked for seven years with Five Ten’s Munich-based sales agency “Agentur Reiner Kopf.” Michael Fussing Clausen, formerly of adidas Brand Finance, will be responsible for Finance & Accounting. Clausen is a passionate mountain biker who worked as a business controller and economist in Denmark’s banking, construction and health sector. Rounding out the European all-star team is veteran Five Ten employee and international wingsuit flying and climbing icon, Ivo Ninov, who will continue in his current position as Senior Sports Marketing and Event Manager. Five Ten’s European Customer Service Department will operate out of the existing Brussels location until January, 2013, when it will move to Herzogenaurach, under the leadership ofSuzana Savic, as Customer Service Team Leader, and Melanie Menzel, Customer Service Specialist. Savic and Menzel will be supported by the existing Brussels office staff through January, 2013.
“We’re sticking to our established sales structure and will continue to work with our European agency partners,” attests Blondel, whose responsibilities will include coordinating Five Ten’s European sales agencies. “Europe is an important market with great potential. I believe that with our new European team and new offices, we will be able to improve our quality, service and delivery times, at the same time preserving the well-established spirit of Five Ten.”
Blondel and the entire Five Ten sales and marketing team are led by Christian Stegmaier, Five Ten’s new VP Integrations Manager at adidas. Stegmaier, who was appointed to the position by Rolf Reinschmidt, Senior Vice President adidas Outdoor, will oversee Five Ten’s global sales and marketing initiatives. Stegmaier brings to Five Ten an extensive background in strategic organization and planning, international business development and go-to-market strategies. Stegmaier is an avid mountain biker and accomplished tennis player and skier. He will split his time between the new Herzogenaurach office and Five Ten’s Redlands, California-based headquarters, where he is learning to rock climb in his spare time.
Five Ten founder and president, Charles Cole, in Five Ten's Rubber Laboratory, reviewing the spring/summer 2013 line.
Charles Cole, founder and president of Five Ten, notes that the new European team brings tremendous talent and leadership to the company. “As part of our acquisition by adidas, Five Ten now has access to the tremendous synergies and efficiencies,” acknowledges Cole. “The new set-up is an important step toward tapping the Brand of the Brave’s full potential.” Cole notes that with the new European structure, he will have more time to concentrate on innovation. For spring/summer 2013, Five Ten is announcing a new series of climbing shoes built around the all-new Stonelands Last and a new flat pedal bike shoe, the Vxi, that will promises to carry the technological torch of the Brand of the Brave to the next level.
Five Ten, which proudly flies the flag of Brand of the Brave, is a leading manufacturer of performance footwear and of high-friction Stealth rubber. From downhill mountain bike racing to rock climbing, from wingsuit flying to kayaking, from highlining to urban trick riding, Five Ten makes footwear for the World’s Most Dangerous Sports. Five Ten was built on the reputation of high-friction, “sticky” rubber for rock shoes, technical innovation and durability. Over the past two decades, company founder, Charles Cole, has used his proprietary rubber formulas and patented designs to grow Five Ten into one of the most successful brands in the adventure sports world. For more information about Five Ten or Stealth Rubber, please go to fiveten.com, or contact Five Ten’s director of communications, Nancy Bouchard, nancy.bouchard@fiveten.com. European-based publications should contact Christoph Boesl, christoph.boesl@fiveten.com.
