Columbia Sportswear has hired Steve Woodside, formerly at VF Corp., as vice-president of global manufacturing and appointed Stuart Redsun, a former executive at Under Armour, to the newly-created role of chief marketing officer.
Woodside, who will report directly to Columbia's chief operating officer, Bryan Timm, joined Columbia on Aug. 25. His responsibilities as vice-president of global manufacturing span the company's global supply chain for apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment.
Woodside is a 25-year veteran of footwear and apparel manufacturing. Most recently, he served in Hong Kong as VF Corp.'s vice president of global footwear, overseeing global footwear sourcing and manufacturing. Prior to that, he spent 23 years at Nike, during which he led both apparel and footwear manufacturing operations. He has spent more than half of his career in Asia, including assignments in Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Hong Kong.
Redsun will become Columbia's first chief marketing officer, effective Oct. 6. In this role, he will be responsible for developing and executing global consumer marketing programs for the Columbia, Sorel and Montrail brands. He will report to Tim Boyle, Columbia Sportswear's president and chief executive. Redsun has held numerous marketing leadership roles within the athletic footwear and apparel industry. He began his marketing career at Nike. Most recently he served as senior vice-president of global brand marketing at Under Armour. In his career, he has also led marketing communications for global technology brands Gateway, Motorola and Sony.
In related moves, Columbia has also announced the pending retirements of Dan Hanson, current vice-president of global marketing, and Patrick Werner, current vice-president of global apparel manufacturing. Hanson and Werner have been at Columbia for 25 and 10 years, respectively. They are both expected to remain on board for specified periods in order to ensure smooth transitions to their successors.