It was an active week for the movement of key executives into new positions as some recent free agents found new homes and some missing from the market have emerged in new key positions. The week started with two recent Deckers departures finding new homes in the outdoor industry, with former Teva president Bob Orlando named to the same position at Royal Robbins, and Jay McGregor, the former VP sales for the Teva brand, resurfacing in the same position at Spyder Active Sports.
Sports Executive Weekly caught up with Mr. Orlando at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market where he was getting quickly immersed in the RR business. He told SEW he will start full-time the first week of September after some planned time off following the Teva gig. Francisco Morales, who has been in the president slot at Royal, will move into a consulting role for the company on the design and development side. He will focus on his sourcing consultant business and will still oversee the design business at Royal Robbins. The move to enroll Orlando in the top spot appears to be a signal that the company will take on more of a sales and marketing focus going forward. Royal Robbins was acquired by Phoenix Footwear Group, Inc. in October 2003.
Jay McGregor, who recently left his position at Teva, also joins a recently-acquired company, charged with doubling North American sales at Spyder Active Sports over the next few years. McGregor also has a deep sales and marketing background in the industry, with stints at adidas, Wilson Sporting Goods, Ektelon, and Head Sports on his resume. Spyder was acquired by private equity firm Apax Partners in August 2004.
Late in the week, Deckers appointed a new president of the Teva business, tapping Carlo Lingiardi to lead the brand under new Deckers CEO Angel Martinez. Lingiardi, who was most recently VP/GM of the footwear business at Tecnica USA, joined the company in time to make his debut on day two of the OR show. At Tecnica, Lingiardi managed the hiking and after-ski footwear categories, coordinating the product and design team efforts in both the United States and Italy.
In another move in the outdoor business, former Galyans GMM Lindsay Rice was reportedly appointed to run the retail business at The North Face.
