Smith & Wesson Corp. announced that it has hired sporting goods industry veteran Denzil Tallent as Director of Key Retail Accounts. In this newly created role, Tallent will serve as a strategic business resource to support the growth and development of the company and the strategic objectives of its key retail customers.
Tallent has more than 30 years of experience in sales, marketing and key account management in the sporting goods industry. Most recently, he served as director of sales for the Gerber Outdoor Division of Fiskars Brands, Inc., where he led a team that served more than 150 accounts and where he managed key customers including Academy, Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas, Wal-Mart and Gander Mountain.
“We are very excited about the addition of Denzil to our team,” said Mike Brown, vice president of sales for Smith & Wesson. “At Smith & Wesson we are focused on providing all of our customers with exceptional support. Expanding our team to enable us to better support our key retail accounts is an important part of that initiative. “
“Denzil has extensive experience working closely with large accounts in the sporting goods industry, many of which are currently Smith & Wesson customers,” added Brown. “His deep knowledge and experience will help our organization to create alignment with their needs, supporting their growth as well as our own.””
Prior to Fiskars Brands, Inc., Tallent was Vice president of Sales at Brunswick Corporation, and Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Optronics, Inc., a lighting manufacturer, where he managed representatives in the sporting goods and marine markets. He received his bachelor's degree in marketing from Oklahoma State University at Stillwater.
