Salewa North America, which distributes the Dynafit, Salewa, Wild Country and Pomoca brands in the United States and Canada, appointed Brian Mecham general manager.
Mecham comes from Icebreaker, where he had served as general manager for the U.S. market since Sep. 2014 and was responsible for wholesale, retail, e-commerce, marketing, operations and finance. He managed the omni-channel sales organization to maximize growth opportunities and create a seamless customer experience across all touch points of the brand. Prior to Icebreaker, Brian worked for Black Diamond Equipment as Vice President of Sales overseeing North American Wholesale, Direct to Consumer, and International Distributors, and at Patagonia, where he first served as a Sales Representative and then as the Western Regional Sales Manager.
Salewa North America is a subsidiary of the Oberalp Group S.P.A. of Bolzano, Italy.
“I have tremendous respect for the Oberalp brands, their strong presence in Europe and the quality of their products, but also understand the competitive landscape in North America.” Mecham said. “I’m excited to further develop a NA commercial plan for all of the Oberalp brands. With strategic planning and reinforcing wholesale partnerships, we have significant growth potential for all four brands (Salewa, Dynafit, Wild Country and Pomoca) in both U.S. and Canada. “
Mecham reports to Claes Broqvist, who joined Oberalp in Jan. 2016 as Regional General Manager. Mecham takes over from Christopher Sword who was hired in 2006 by the Oberalp Group to establish and run its subsidiary.
“We want to thank Chris for his amazing level of passion and dedication and wish him all the best for the future. He built a profitable business and the strong team he helped build is a testament to his dedication and hard work,” said Massimo Baratto, Oberalp Group CEO.
