Scarpa North America this month added to its management team by creating the new position of Climbing Category Manager. To fill that post, Scarpa hired Mark Busby, a sales and marketing expert with extensive brand management experience in the rock climbing category.
Originally from England, Busby brings more than a decade of experience working with climbing and outdoor brands in Europe. In the last 10 years, he has held the post of European Sales Director for Five Ten, and numerous sales and marketing positions at Bigstone, a UK-based agency representing Arc’teryx and Five Ten. He remains a dedicated and accomplished climber, a core requirement in fulfilling the role.
Working directly with renowned rock shoe designer Heinz Mariacher, who oversees design of Scarpa’s climbing line, Busby will direct all aspects of Scarpa’s focus on the climbing category in North America. He also will collaborate with Mariacher and the R+D team in Italy on global design, tailoring development to the needs of the U.S. and Canadian markets.
“Having Busby on the team will allow Scarpa a laser-like focus to climbing-specific sales and marketing efforts in North America “said Kim Miller, CEO of Scarpa North America. “We build the best products for climbing, skiing, alpinism, hiking, and a variety of different mountain sports. But in order to really accelerate the growth and intensify the momentum that has been building with Scarpa in rock climbing specifically the last few seasons, we really needed to dedicate focus and energy in that category with someone whose job it is to live and breathe rock climbing. We’ve found the right person for that role in Mark. His knowledge, skills and passion for the sport make him absolutely the perfect person for this job.”
Busby’s hire coincides with refinement of and new additions to Scarpa’s climbing collection. Spring 2016 sees Scarpa release four new rock shoes and three new approach shoes aimed at very specific categories within the sport. These models will be debuted at the upcoming Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, Aug. 5-8.
