A 35-year veteran of the outdoor industry, Casey Sheahan has been named as the next president of Keen. Sheahan succeeds outgoing president, Steve Meineke, who will retire in mid-November and remain an active Keen Advisory Council member.
“We are thrilled to bring on such an experienced and respected leader to help meet the demands of our growing business and to perpetuate our values,” said Meineke.
Sheahan began his career as the editor and publisher of Powder Magazine, which evolved into leadership roles at Nike as category manager of ACG, VP of marketing at Merrell and as president of Kelty. Most recently, Sheahan served as president and CEO of Patagonia, where he led the company through a tripling of the business.
Since retiring from Patagonia in 2014, Sheahan has been serving on several advisory boards across the outdoor industry, including Keen, affording him a real-time perspective into the company, strategic initiatives, organization, and opportunities ahead. Sheahan will be based in Portland, Ore. at KEEN’s global headquarters.
“Keen is the only brand I considered coming out of my post-Patagonia fly-fishing sabbatical for,” said Sheahan. “It’s an incredible opportunity to join a family-based company that is authentically disrupting the status quo, leading through its guiding principles and actions.”
Sheahan is Keen’s fifth C-suite-level hire in the last year. In the past 12 months, the company welcomed John Eberle as GM of Outdoor, Lifestyle and Kids, Tyler LaMotte as VP, Global Brand Marketing, Christy Saito as VP, Global Product Merchandising, Outdoor and Lifestyle, and Rob Langstaff as VP, International.
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