Deuter USA announced the promotion of Jonathan Degenhardt to managing director, effective July 1, 2020. Degenhardt, who previously served as the U.S.-based senior marketing manager for Deuter and sister brand ORTOVOX, will transition into the leadership role currently held by Bill Hartrampf, who will stay with the company and build a new direct sales business unit for industrial and promotional products.
“Jonathan is the ideal leader to move our business forward in the United States. His experience as a marketing leader, sales operations team member and retailer has given Jonathan a uniquely rounded view on our industry and enables him to act as an empathetic partner to our internal teams as well as our wholesale partners and other vendors,” says Deuter CEO Martin Riebel. “Providing our employees opportunities to learn and grow in their careers is a key part of our company culture and we believe in investing in our internal talents and not in external solutions first.”
Prior to joining Deuter USA in May 2019, Degenhardt served as marketing director at La Sportiva USA for seven years. He previously filled a variety of sales operations, brand marketing and independent sales roles at brands including Movement Skis, Scarpa North America, and Trango. Degenhardt began his outdoor industry career on the sales floor, working with retailers including Neptune Mountaineering, Boulder Mountaineer and The Mountain Shop of Fort Collins. He lives in Louisville, Colorado, with his wife, Carrie, and their two-year-old daughter.
Degenhardt will assume his new role on July 1, following a five-month transition period. Hartrampf, who was appointed president of Deuter USA in 2008, following 13 years as the company’s Germany-based global export manager, will take on a new role in the Longmont, Colorado, office, leading development of sales channels in the industrial and promotional products categories.
“I have tremendous respect for and confidence in the U.S.-based teams at Deuter and ORTOVOX, said Degenhardt. “With leadership from Deuter sales manager Scott Park and ORTOVOX brand manager Tom Mason, and backed by a global organization that is committed to long-term, sustainable growth in the U.S., a great deal of opportunity lies before us.”
“These brands mean a great deal to me. I have been a member of the Deuter family since early in my career and I am very excited by the prospect of building new distribution categories for the brand in the U.S.,” said Hartrampf. “The enthusiasm and fresh ideas Jonathan has brought since his arrival have been felt throughout the company and his breadth of experience in our industry positions him well to lead across the organization. Deuter USA is in great hands as we embark on this transition.”
