Timbuk2, the San Francisco-based company best known for its messenger bags, hired Jen Larkin as design director, Nelson Garcia as art director, Azul Couzens as head of marketing, and Ami Takahashi as head of international sales.
Over the span of her career, Larkin has honed her skills as a multidisciplinary design director, working in leather goods design, brand identity, illustration, and graphic design. Prior to this position, she worked as a Design Director and Senior Designer at Coach and a Senior Designer at Club Monaco, as well as various roles at Gap, Old Navy, and American Eagle Outfitters. She will play a key role as a collaborative partner in inspiring and designing the Fall 2017 and Winter 2018 collections, which will continue to meet the needs of committed and casual cyclists alike.
Garcia spent his career melding a strong and capable leadership style with innovative and compelling design work. In this position, he will finesse everything from concept to design to visual campaigns, drawing upon his almost two decades’ worth of experiences as Associate Art Director at Gap, Inc. from 1999 to 2015, as well as his work running his own independent design studio.
Couzens’ natural acumen for all things marketing led him to ascend the ranks at prior companies. Rising from Grassroots Marketing to Marketing Manager roles at Camelbak to Brand Manager of the Bell bicycle division to Director of Marketing at BRG Sports, he helped drive tremendous brand growth through marketing communications and community building campaigns that cemented his status as a strategic thinker and marketing expert. His experience extends through and beyond digital marketing, traditional marketing, advertising, and public relations, with novel and creative approaches throughout.
Takahashi recently joins Timbuk2 from Nike. A resident of Japan for more than 20 years, she held high-profile positions such as the Business Director for the Nike Golf Division and was most recently the General Manager of Nike Women’s and Women’s Training. Fluent in Japanese and has a vast understanding of the Japanese consumer, Takahashi will be integral in Timbuk2’s international growth strategy.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jen, Nelson, Azul, and Ami onto our team,” said CEO Patti Cazzato. “We’re very aligned on the way we view where the world is going – and it’s by bike. This leadership team will bring a significant amount of strategy, foresight and planning, thinking about Timbuk2 not only as a bag brand, but as a larger movement around sustainability and making our cities better places to live.”
These appointments come at the heels of the 2015 appointments of Mark Hanley as VP of Sales (Vans), Andrea Chynoweth as Senior Design Director (Gap, Levi Strauss) and Elizabeth Abrahamson as VP of Merchandising and Marketing (Gap, Williams-Sonoma). With CEO Patti Cazzato at the helm, the team has never been more poised for their next phase of growth.
