Soar Communications, a marketing communications agency serving the sports, outdoor, athletics and recreation industries, today announced the hiring of Ian Connor as account executive.



Connor brings more than eight years of outdoor industry marketing experience having previously served as the North American marketing coordinator for the Mammut Sports Group and as a brand manager for firearms manufacturer O.F. Mossberg & Sons. Prior to Soar, Ian was the Survive Outdoors Longer product manager for Adventure Medical Kits.
As a new member of the Soar team, Ian will work with clients such as Bergans of Norway, Bosch eBike Systems, ColdPruf, Kinetic, TravelChair and pro-bono accounts Bike Utah and Trips for Kids. Connor is based in North Conway, NH.

 

“This is the classic case of the 'cobbler's children have no shoes,'” said Chip Smith, president of Soar Communications. “Ian helped us at OR Winter Market and we brought him on full-time in March, and we've been working hard together and haven't had the chance to announce he came on board. His industry experience helped him jumped right in, and his marketing experience gives him an overall perspective to successfully serve our clients' needs.”

 

“I am excited to be part of the Soar team. This opportunity allows me to work directly with clients and provide them with an executive level of customer service,” Connor said. “I hope to utilize my passion for the outdoors, and the outdoor industry, as well as my marketing, brand management and retail experiences to help our clients achieve their goals.”

 

Connor earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a Minor in English from the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, VA, and was Sports Editor for the Institute's newspaper, The Cadet. Ian earned his MBA in International Business from the American College of Switzerland in 1999. Prior to joining the corporate world Ian has worked as a full-time ski instructor, ski school director, specialty outdoor retail manager, bike shop mechanic, and as a canoe and kayak livery manager.

 

Ian is a passionate telemark skier and gets his big mountain 'fix' by skiing in locations such as Alaska, Chile, Switzerland and all over the Rocky Mountain region. In the summer months he is an avid mountain bike rider and competes in 24-Hour mountain bike races with his team, The Moat Mountain Growlers.