Effective March 7th, Columbia brands Mountain Hardwear and Montrail will have a new Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA): Andrew Barker has worked for The North Face for a decade, most recently as country manager for the U.K. and Ireland as well as sales manager for northern Europe. Previously, the 34-year-old worked with Blacks Leisure and Millets. He will report to Christian Finell, the general manager of Columbia Sportswear in the EMEA region, and replaces Cyril Pliquet, who has left the top of Mountain Hardwear in that region after six years. It is probably not a random choice, that Barker was hired from Columbia's U.S. rival, since Topher Gaylord, the incumbent president of Mountain Hardwear, also used to be a long-time veteran of The North Face.
