Hi-Tec celebrated the grand opening of its new 3,000-square-foot global headquarters in Amsterdam early this month, capping off months of changes at the footwear company, including the relocation of its U.S. headquarters to Portland earlier this year.
During a launch event held May 9, Chairman and Founder Frank van Wezel was joined on stage by his family as 400 guests from all over the world attended.
Hi-Tec is extremely proud of our heritage and business foundations,” said van Wezel. “We are a dedicated and passionate brand that refuses to sit still and rest on our laurels. We must be adaptable, moving with the trends and ensure, for the better of our company, that the global product development and marketing teams, whose main brief is to drive our brand forward, are presented with a highly creative and inspirational working environment in a central and easily accessible location.
Van Wezel’s son and Hi-Tec’s new CEO Ed van Wezel, headed up the relocation project.
Martin Binnendijk, formally European chief executive, will be the groups new CFO. This position was previously held by Bob Kaiser who has named chief executive of Magnum USA in Modesto, CA. Meanwhile Hi-Tec USA has relocated to Portland, OR under CEO Bill Berta. Ian Cameron, previously UK sales director, has been announced as Hi-Tec UKs managing director effective as of January 2011.
Immediately following the opening Hi-Tec, held its Spring/Summer 2012 Collections launch with delegates attending from the companys subsidiaries, distributors and relevant sales teams from over 80 countries worldwide. The ranges presented were the first complete collection developed by Hi-Tecs new Creative Director Charles Willis and his global product development team.
