Element appoints first Design and Marketing Vice Presidents

Lifestyle and street wear label Element has announced the appointment of Reynald Gautier and Julien Duval to the company's executive management team as Vice President of global design and Vice President of global marketing respectively.

The two skateboarders are set to support the label's global development and will bring their creative and strategic experience to their newly created roles. “Element continues to solidify its brand strength by hiring skateboarders that are creative experts in design and marketing to ensure future product lines resonate with consumers,” commented Frank Voit, global GM for Element.

“Reynald and Julien will lead global teams while driving the creative process forward to create the freshest product for our customers.” Gautier will be based in Element's head European offices in Hossegor France, where he will work closely with all the label's region markets to ensure consistent progress throughout Element's product design. Prior to joining the team at Element, he was the creative director of the European division of Japanese denim label Edwin.

Duval, who was formerly Element's European brand manager, has successfully helped create the skateboarding brand presence over the past years. He has been credited for overseeing the launches of the Wolfebror Jacket Collection and the recent collaboration with Chad Eaton, known as Timber. In his new role, Duval will take on global responsibilities as the label's lead marketing officer and will oversee Element's entire marketing team across all divisions.

“Julien is the perfect combination of skateboarder and businessman that we need to take influences from the streets, music and art and communicate them globally in a consistent way,” added Johnny Schillereff, the founder of Element.