Black Diamond has appointed Mark Ritchie as its chief operating officer, a newly created position. Ritchie is a nearly 20-year veteran of the company, where he led the global operational platform supporting the group's businesses. Wim de Jager has been promoted to the position of managing director of Black Diamond Equipment Asia – he will now lead all manufacturing and distribution activities at Black Diamond's subsidiary in Shuhai, China. The company has also promoted four other managers: Zach Posner to vice president for information technologies, Lauri Hawkins to director of sourcing development for apparel, Dough Heinrich to director of line planning, and Kasey Jarvis to director of design.