Ruffwear, celebrating its 30th anniversary, has created three new leadership roles at the C-Suite level in operations, marketing, and sales to further grow the company through “operational innovation and brand revitalization.”
Brandan Hill, president of Ruffwear, said, “30 years ago, Ruffwear defined a category. Today’s competitive landscape offers us a chance to explore how we can refine our supply chain, renew our dedication to sustainable and innovative products and upgrade how we approach marketing and sales. The addition of these top-level executives is critical to our global growth plan and will bring their decades of insight and leadership to business units that are essential to our success moving forward.”
The leadership expansion began in Fall 2023 with Young Joen‘s promotion to chief operating officer (COO). A 13-year brand veteran, Joen was previously director of product commercialization. As COO, Joen is responsible for maximizing “operational agility and providing expert management of all logistics processes that seamlessly connect Ruffwear to its partners,” said Ruffwear. Joen will also explore how AI can better help the design and product iteration process and demand planning in a global economy.
“Joen’s contributions are fundamental to our operational strategy and enabled brand growth through innovation,” said Hill. “He built an innovative and nimble supply chain that is primed to support our future growth plans as we further invest in brand direction and revenue with the additions of our new chief marketing and chief revenue roles.”
Chosen for her marketing experience and product management background, Robin Skillings joined Ruffwear as chief marketing officer in late 2023. With nearly two decades of managing global teams through leadership roles at companies including Keen, Honeywell and Johnson Outdoors, Skillings has a proven track record of creating “impactful marketing programs that reinforce brand, product and target audience through content and leading digital strategy,” said Ruffwear. In her new role, Skillings focuses on “building global brand awareness, supporting e-commerce and curating a best-in-class consumer journey that inspires dog and human connections with the outdoors and wherever adventure finds them,” continued Ruffwear.
Sandella Gansheimer was hired as chief revenue officer in February 2024 and rounds out the Ruffwear leadership team. Gansheimer joined the company with “over 15 years of sales success in pet specialty products and a long history of managing united, data-driven sales teams,” said Ruffwear. Gansheimer’s expertise in distribution and retail will help “lead new sales strategies that uplift Ruffwear’s points of differentiation and support expansion within e-commerce, outdoor adventure, pet specialty and independent pet retail channels,” continued Ruffwear.
“Young, Robin and Sandella share the same passion for exploration and innovation that drives everyone at Ruffwear,” said Hill. “Their strategic oversight and seasoned leadership will help us forge new paths in the category as we continue to inspire the outdoor connections between dogs and their humans on a global basis.”
Image courtesy Ruffwear
