Looking to the future as it approaches its 30th anniversary in 2011, Outdoor Research restructured its leadership team this month, creating a new vice president role that will more closely link product development with marketing.
Outdoor Research hired Jordan Wand for the newly created position of VP of roduct and marketing. Wand brings more than 20 years of experience from top posts at Merrell apparel, Nike and Polo Ralph Lauren.
With the shift, current VP of Design and Operations Clark Campbell will become VP of operations, which will allow him to focus solely on supply chain and manufacturing. Current VP of Sales and Marketing Alex Kutches will become VP of sales, enabling him to focus entirely on Outdoor Research’s sales goals. Audrey Hicks will continue as VP of finance and administration, a position that remains the same through the restructuring.
“This year we took a hard look at what we needed to continue the growth trajectory we've been riding for the past few years,” said Dan Nordstrom, president of Outdoor Research. “It became clear that we needed to further tighten the link between who we are and the gear we design. Aligning the product development process more closely with marketing will drive the relationship between our brand DNA and every product we produce. Jordan is the right person to oversee that effort.”
Most recently, Wand was vice president and general manager of Merrell Apparel, where he led all aspects of brand management, product creation, merchandising and sourcing. Prior to that, at Nike, he was global director of the Advanced Innovation Team, Nike’s think tank for innovation in support of its global apparel business. As vice president of RLX Polo Sport, Wand successfully launched Polo’s outdoor and ski brand, after working for a decade in a variety of other product development, brand management and operations roles at Polo.
Wand will assume oversight of the product development and marketing teams, bringing full integration of Outdoor Research’s DNA as a brand that focuses on outdoor product design that is driven by needs and problems identified through real-world use.
