Helly Hansen tapped Russ Rowan to drive its image and revenues in the U.S. through a newly created vice president of sales and marketing position based in Bellevue, Wash. Rowan is a 15-year winter sports, outdoor and cycling industry sales veteran. He joined Helly Hansen in 2005 as national sales director and previously served as National Sales Manager for O’Neill’s Outerwear division. Prior to O’Neill he worked at Burton Snowboards as their International Sales Manager and Eastern Sales Manager since 1999. Rowan launched his action sports career when he launched two specialty retail stores in Toronto and worked as an independent sales rep in Southern California.

“Helly Hansen is ageless,” Rowan said. “The design wisdom inside the company is amazing. It’s the only brand I’ve worked with that resonates both with mature, technically-focused adventurers and the progressive youth market.”

Rowan will continue to manage and expand Helly Hansen’s sales force, enhance the brand’s dealer relations programs, facilitate new merchandising initiatives, and drive advertising, events, public relations and promotions. Reporting to Rowan, Casey Huffman was promoted to marketing strategist and Mike Holzer was named marketing coordinator for the U.S.

“Russ has a great business mind and is known for his unorthodox marketing programs,” said Ric Long, president, Helly Hansen North America. “He knows how to get people’s attention, make our messages stick and pack the house at events. It’s a great fit for the brand.”

In addition to traditional marketing mediums, Rowan plans to focus the brand’s marketing efforts on reaching core riders on the hill and movers on the street. Rowan instituted the Helly Hansen “Battle of Battles” shop battle program in 2005 and will grow the event to 16 regional markets culminating in an outrageous Viking-themed national battle at Copper Mountain in March 2007. Earlier last year he launched Helly’s Love product flow program with limited edition products available for top influencers in the action sports, music, and urban lifestyle markets. Both groundbreaking programs have received a stellar reception from top consumer media outlets and created a groundswell of interest in the brand.

“Helly walks a thin line on the marketing front,” Rowan said. “We first and foremost stick to our roots and build technically superior apparel but at the same time we’ve found a way to connect with influencers in a number of markets who drive style-conscious kids toward our brand. Once they’re hooked, they’re Helly for life.”