Outdoor equipment brand Brunton announced the appointment of Walter Kaihatu as vice president of sales and marketing. In his new role, Kaihatu will support the current sales structure, expand marketing and retail opportunities for navigation and optics products and broaden the portable power category.
Kaihatu will also lend his expertise to assist with Brunton’s focus on re-positioning the brand under the Power Forward concept, emphasizing growth with its premium optics products and new portable power devices. Kaihatu will report to Erron Sorensen, president of Brunton. He succeeds former vice president of sales, Joel Bell who recently resigned to pursue new opportunities.
Kaihatu has over 20 years of experience in sales, operations, management and business development in the technology and outdoor industries. In his most recent position as vice president of business development at Massif Mountain Gear, the largest domestic supplier of bespoke flame-resistant combat clothing. Kaihatu built a domestic and international distribution network which included a sales manager and representative structure that surpassed all planned volume, profit and revenue targets. Kaihatu brings additional valued experience from his past roles as president of Underwater Kinetics, vice president of corporate sales and operations at 5.11 Tactical, vice president of sales and marketing at Streamlight, Inc., director of sales at Pelican Products and regional sales manager at Ergodyne Corporation.
“Brunton is a great American brand with a hardcore following. The solid management structure, funding and game-changing technology that is slated to launch in Fall 2013 sealed the deal for me,” Kaihatu said. “I plan to create a cohesive Brunton footprint on the shelves and in the hearts and minds of our channel partners while maximizing the brand’s heritage and product selection to solve problems for our users and drive sales for our dealers.”
Kaihatu will be based in San Diego, California. He holds a degree in Economics from California State University, Long Beach.
