John Christian Walbrecht appointed President of Mountain Hardwear

Columbia Sportswear Company has appointed John Christian Walbrecht as President of its Mountain Hardwear brand, effective March 7, 2016. In his new role, Walbrecht will be responsible for leading all aspects of Mountain Hardwear's global brand positioning and go-to-market product, sales and marketing strategies.

Columbia Sportswear Company President Bryan Timm, to whom Walbrecht will report, said, "The Mountain Hardwear brand plays an important role within our portfolio of brands that connect active people with their passions. John has spent his career building brands that connect deeply with passionate, outdoor consumers through high-performance apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment. We are confident that he will help us unlock the global potential of the Mountain Hardwear brand.”

Walbrecht has been a leader in the outdoor industry for the past 17 years. Since 2012 he has served as president/CEO of Fenix Outdoors North America, based in Boulder, Colorado, where he was responsible for the strategic direction of several performance outdoor brands, including Fjällraven, Brunton, Primus and Hanwag.

Prior to that, he served as president of Brandbase, where he was responsible for global brand management of the Nomis, Technine, and Sound snowboarding brands; president of Section, sr. vice president of global sales and marketing at Spyder Active Sports and president of Spyder Europe; and as international marketing strategist and board director for Dr. Martens in the US and England.