Columbia Sportswear Company announced the appointment of industry veteran Joe Vernachio to serve as president of its Mountain Hardwear brand, effective April 3, 2017. In his new role, Vernachio will be based at Mountain Hardwear’s headquarters in Richmond, Calif., where he will lead all aspects of Mountain Hardwear’s global brand positioning, go-to-market strategies and execution across all distribution channels.
Vernachio brings a 30-year career in the outdoor and athletic industry to his role. Since 2011 he has served as global vice president of product and operations at The North Face in Alameda, Calif. Prior to that he served for six years as chief operating officer and senior vice president of product and sourcing for Spyder Active Sports, four years as vice president of product for 120-store Canadian retail chain Roots, and 12 years in product development and category management with Nike, Inc., during which he helped launch the company’s branded outerwear program. He began his career in 1987 as a product manager at Chouinard Equipment.
Vernachio will report directly to Columbia Sportswear Company president Bryan Timm.
“Joe brings a unique combination of product creation and global operations expertise to his new role, making him ideally suited to the role of brand president,” said Timm.
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