SmartWool Corporation said it will restructure the North America sales department. Amy Beck will move into the role of Director of Sales-North America, Kelly Gorder will take over as the Director for Key Accounts-North America.

Additionally the company announces the promotion of industry veteran, Norma Hansen, to fill a newly created position as Director of Project Management and Global Business Services.

Beck, as Director of Sales-North America, will lead overall domestic sales planning and execution of the SmartWool brand. She will also direct the business development and domestic distribution strategy across all company product lines. As a member of the SmartWool Leadership Team, the Director of Sales-North America will lead the effort to create a long-range sales plan to address North American marketplace opportunities. Beck has been at SmartWool since 2004 with a variety of positions including Director of Sales-Lifestyle Socks followed by Director of Sales-Socks. Previous to SmartWool, Beck was employed by Cole Haan for eight years in a variety of capacities.

“We’ve seen significant growth in our sales efforts over the last five years and Amy has been a driving force in fueling those gains,” states SmartWool President, Mark Satkiewicz. “This new structure will be good for our company and even better for our partners. It will allow Amy, Kelly and the rest of the North American team to deliver an even higher level of service to our key retailers.”

As Director of Key Accounts- North America, Gorder will primarily be responsible for supporting and growing the SmartWool business across all product groups. Gorder’s primary focus will be delivering premium service to SmartWool key partners, as well as providing high-level order management and strategic account planning. Gorder has been with the company for two years as the Director of Sales – Apparel. Prior to SmartWool she was the lead at Sundance for apparel, footwear and accessories and at REI as product line manager for apparel.

In an effort to remain ahead of the company’s continued growth curve, SmartWool has created a new position designed solely to improve the overall business process of the company. As Director of Project Management and Global Business Services, Hansen will establish the framework for SmartWool’s approach to project management. This will give project managers the structure to plan, organize and appropriately manage resources. This position also has a strategic leadership role in global revenue forecasting, long range planning and in the global demand signal/forecasting process. Hansen is a 20-year veteran of the outdoor industry; she has been at SmartWool for the past five years as the Director of Sales Operations. Previous to joining the SmartWool sales team she was Vice President of Member Services for the Outdoor Industry Association.

“Norma, a strategic thinker and proven leader, has the keen ability to look at the business in its totality and determine the most efficient and effective processes needed to successfully complete a project. The creation of this position demonstrates our commitment to the global market as Norma will ensure all processes are aligned globally,” comments Chris Hahn, SmartWool Chief Administrative Officer.

The sales team restructure will be effective September 1, 2009.