Fox Head, Inc. appointed Paul E. Harrington, formerly CEO of Easton-Bell Sports, as CEO, effective immediately.
In December 2014, Altamont Capital Partners (Altamont) led a majority recapitalization of Fox, in which the founding Fox family continued to own a significant minority interest in the company. Keoni Schwartz, managing director of Altamont, commented: “Fox is an incredibly strong and authentic brand built on decades of successful performance innovation. Paul's deep experience in brand development, innovation, and product development across a range of world-class brands positions him to lead Fox to the next level of performance. We thank Scott Olivet for stepping in as Interim CEO for the last few months.”
Scott Olivet, chairman of the board, commented: “I have had the pleasure of getting to know Paul over the last 18 months serving on the Boards of Dakine and Mervin. His experience, approach to strategy, focus on operational excellence, and his sensitivity to culture all make Paul a perfect match for Fox. The team will also appreciate his deep functional knowledge across the full range of Fox's product categories from performance to lifestyle.”
Paul Harrington has been an operating partner with Altamont since 2013 and has served on the board of directors of Mervin Manufacturing and Dakine. From 2008 to 2013, Harrington was president and CEO of Easton-Bell Sports, a designer, developer, and marketer of branded sports equipment under the Easton, Bell, Giro, Ridell and Blackburn names. Harrington served as president and CEO, Reebok Brand from 2006 to 2008 and was SVP, global sales and COO of Reebok International from 2004 to 2006. From 2003 to early 2004, he served as SVP/COO of Levi Strauss & Co and prior to that held numerous roles in the product, sourcing, sales and operations groups of Reebok.
“I am extremely excited with the opportunity to lead Fox's next chapter of brand development and performance,” said Paul Harrington. “The recent recapitalization by Altamont gives us the platform to build on our authenticity, drive innovation and excite our customers globally with superior products across both the performance and lifestyle segments of our business. In addition, having the Fox family's continued involvement is a unique advantage as we leverage our past success to realize the full potential of the Fox brand.”
