Willams Athletic Club, the high-fashion luxury lifestyle golf brand, has named golf industry experts Marty Hackel, the former fashion director at Golf Digest, and Alyson Ramsey Johnson, CEO of golf marketing agency Gilly Group, to the brand’s leadership team and as investors of the apparel company.

With a combined 75 years of experience in the golf and fashion industries, the team will be pivotal in growing the brand in the golf industry with green grass clubs, brand partners and consumers.

The Williams Athletic Club collection was introduced to a select group of private clubs at the PGA Show in Frisco, TX, in July and launched director-to-consumer on November 18.

“I’m thrilled to be joining such a talented team,” said Hackel. “Willams Athletic Club is a brand that presents a fresh look at how women can be stylish and elegant while also being comfortable, wearing a beautifully designed and innovative collection.”

Hackel is known for dressing the world’s most celebrated professional golfers and was the fashion director for Golf Digest for 15 years. With multiple TV and radio appearances on NBC and Golf Channel, Hackel began his career in etailer in the 1970s, working at Dayton’s, Neiman Marcus, Bottega Veneta, Filofax, and Alexander Julian. He holds a degree from the University of Vermont and has a golf radio show based in Connecticut.

Johnson joins the WAC team to oversee marketing, communications and media. As the President and CEO of Gilly Group, Alyson focuses on sports marketing, PR, event production, tournament management, and sponsorship activation and has worked with clients, including multiple tournaments and private golf clubs. She has worked across and with all of golf’s governing bodies, various golf brands, talent, and properties. Additionally, Johnson represents players (men and women), on-air talent, and PGA golf instructors and coaches. She serves on the New Jersey State Golf Association (NJSGA) Board of Directors and has also served on the NJ PGA Section Foundation Board as well as the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Foundation Board.

“I have worked with numerous golf apparel brands over the course of my career, yet this is the first luxury fashion brand that I’ve seen that truly can transition from a more professional setting to the Club,” said Johnson. “As a woman business owner myself, I am always looking for pieces that have an air of sophistication and polish while also allowing me to be comfortable out on the course, be it if I’m following a group and entertaining clients or playing a round of golf myself. Williams Athletic Club is such a breath of fresh air for the women’s market, and I am so excited to be able to support the brand both from a marketing and investment perspective.”

Image courtesy Williams Athletic Club