Scarpa North America (SNA), the wholly-owned U.S. and Canadian distributor for Scarpa, announced it had promoted Melanie Hood to director of marketing and communications and Joe Higby as VP of Finance.

In her new role, Hood will become part of SNA’s executive leadership team, and Higby has been elevated in his continuing role on the executive team. That team also includes CEO Kim Miller and VP of Sales Mark Mathews. Hood and Higby will help direct the brand’s trajectory in the U.S. and Canadian markets working closely with its global leadership team at its headquarters in northern Italy.

Hood and Higby are headquartered in SNA’s Boulder, CO office.

“Growth of a company is intrinsically connected to the growth of people who work there,” Miller said. “Amidst all of the challenges in the world right now, our business is growing, and that’s a reflection of the effort put in by Melanie and Joe, and many others here as well. Scarpa is a family-owned business that not only creates and makes products but that owns 90 percent of its manufacturing facilities and, so the connection between people at all levels— that peer-to-peer relationship—is super important. If you want to grow a company, you grow the people along with it. I’m proud to have Melanie and Joe on the leadership team here at SNA.”

Hood, who has worked as SNA’s marketing manager since early 2018, will direct all North American marketing strategies and communications for the brand, including events, sponsorships, athlete relationships, advertising, public relations, marketing collateral, social and web. She will also help direct efforts in sustainability and DEI for the company.

In the past year, Hood was co-creator of the Scarpa Athlete Mentorship Initiative (SAMI). The program pairs 31 aspiring athletes in the climbing, mountaineering, skiing, and running categories from BIPOC, LGBTQ and Disabled communities with mentors from Scarpa’s athlete team.

Higby has served as SNA’s finance manager since early 2016. He will continue to manage and direct all aspects of SNA’s finances in his new role but will take on a more significant role around strategic direction and long-term financial goals working with various company departments. He will also lead planning efforts with its global finance and leadership teams at Scarpa’s headquarters in Italy.

In addition to his role as VP of Finance, Higby serves on SNA’s board of directors.