Columbia Sportswear Company Announces Four Key Leadership Promotions

Lisa Kulok

PORTLAND, Ore.-- Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ:COLM) today announced the promotions of four senior leaders.
 
Lisa Kulok, who joined the company in February 2008 and has served as Vice President of Global Marketplace Planning and Customer Operations since October 2009, is promoted to Senior Vice President of Global Supply Chain Operations. In this role, she will be responsible for the company’s global inventory planning, transportation logistics, distribution and account operations.

Steve Woodside, who joined the company in August 2014 as Vice President of Global Manufacturing, is promoted to Senior Vice President of Global Sourcing and Manufacturing. He will continue to be responsible for the company’s global apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment sourcing and contract manufacturing operations.

Kulok and Woodside will both report to Columbia Sportswear Company President Bryan Timm.
Joe Boyle, who joined the company in 2005, is promoted to Senior Vice President of Columbia Brand Merchandising and Design, where he will continue to be responsible for leading the creation of Columbia brand apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment, reporting directly to CEO Tim Boyle.

Jim Swanson, who joined the company in 2003 and has served as Director of Finance since 2009, is promoted to Vice President of Finance with continued responsibility over the company’s strategic planning and financial planning & analysis functions, reporting to Executive Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer Tom Cusick.

Columbia Sportswear Company CEO Tim Boyle, commented, “Each of these leaders has proven their ability to drive change necessary to support rapid global growth and the increasing complexity of our business.

“Lisa and her team have been instrumental in driving improved profitability through enhanced inventory planning and utilization, achieving timely delivery and consistently providing outstanding customer service during a rapid growth cycle. In addition to her global supply chain responsibilities, Lisa has played a critical leadership role in the company’s successful ERP implementations in North America and will continue to do so as we extend our implementations across our remaining global businesses.

Steve Woodside

“Steve and his team build and maintain strong relationships with our contract manufacturing partners in nearly 20 countries. Those relationships are critical in our ability to secure manufacturing capacity to support our growth plans. In the short time that Steve has been with Columbia, he has also introduced best-practices and created opportunities to realize future operating efficiencies.

“Joe has a long history of driving the Columbia brand’s success, leveraging his deep understanding of the brand and the unique needs of its core consumers to develop innovative products across all product categories.

“Jim has played a critical role in elevating our strategic planning processes while building a financial planning and analysis organization that is enabling us to make informed strategic decisions in allocating resources toward our most promising growth opportunities.”

Boyle concluded, “I’m highly confident in the leadership abilities of these four teammates and in their commitment to continuing to drive sustainable, profitable growth through the company’s portfolio of brands for active people.”

About Columbia Sportswear
 
Columbia Sportswear Company markets lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment through a portfolio of brands for active lives. Founded in 1938 in Portland, Oregon, the company’s brands are today sold in approximately 100 countries. In addition to the Columbia® brand, Columbia Sportswear Company also owns the Mountain Hardwear®, Sorel®, prAna®, Montrail® and OutDry® brands.

To learn more, please visit the company's websites at www.columbia.com, www.mountainhardwear.com, www.sorel.com, www.prana.com, www.montrail.com, and www.outdry.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
 
This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding anticipated and potential growth and profitability. The company’s expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith and are believed to have a reasonable basis; however, each forward-looking statement involves a number of risks and uncertainties, including those described in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 under the heading “Risk Factors,” and other risks and uncertainties that have been or may be described from time to time in other reports filed by the company, including reports on Form 8-K, Form 10-Q and Form 10-K. The company cautions that forward-looking statements are inherently less reliable than historical information. The company does not undertake any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this document to conform them to actual results or to reflect changes in events, circumstances or its expectations. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for the company to predict all such factors, nor can it assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.



Source Columbia Sportswear through BUSINESS WIRE by press release ©

Investors: Columbia Sportswear Investor Relations and Corporate Communications /Ron Parham, 503-985-4584 /rparham@columbia.com
or
Media:Columbia Sportswear Public Relations /Scott Trepanier, 503-985-4183 / strepanier@columbia.com