Stefan Wahlén, former global sales director at Peak Performance, started as managing director for Patagonia Europe at the beginning of this month. After the untimely death of Holger Bismann last November, the European operation was run on an interim basis by Andrea Tomasini, the head of Patagonia in Italy, aided by Jonathan Petty, European marketing manager. Walhén spent the last 16 months at Wolsey, as vice president in charge of international development and sales, but he has a track record in the sports and outdoor industry. Before his five-year stint at Peak Performance, he spent another five years at Nike, as sales manager for Northern Europe. Wahlén is based in Annecy.