August, 5th, 2020 – Irvine, CA – Fox Racing, the global leader in mountain bike and motocross apparel and protective gear, announced today its leadership team. Jeff McGuane, CEO, who joined the brand one year ago, said, "Declaring the investment in talent and culture is job number one as we set our sights on the future of Fox. Our promise to deliver the most inspired experiences begins with building the most inspired team." Since arriving at Fox in June, 2019, accomplished executives have joined the brand and others have been promoted to new leadership roles.
Kelly Carioti, GM North America, is overseeing Fox's USA and Canada businesses, joined in January, 2020. Kelly spent 22 years of her career at PepsiCo, where she most recently led strategy and transformation for customer solutions. She has a proven track record building brands and businesses by developing creative strategies to drive consumer trial and conversion across multiple channels of trade. Kelly has partnered with customers across many different industries to transform approaches that resulted in mutually beneficial outcomes.
At Fox, Kelly is focused on earning the position of preferred partner of choice with retailers by better understanding their needs, providing rider-first apparel solutions and adding value to their businesses. Kelly said, "Our retailers have told us that time and labor are two of the biggest challenges they have today. We listened and have changed our go-to-market approach. First, we moved to a direct sales force to provide better customer service and created virtual tools for our retailers to view our innovative Spring 2021 line at their convenience. (Fox Spring 2021 Overview Video) We are committed to helping our retailers succeed and are providing flexible solutions to create a great experience with Fox."
Working with Kelly is Shane Wallace, who joined in February of 2020 as VP of Sales / National Accounts, overseeing retail division, national accounts, and visual merchandising. He has a 30-year background in the multi-channel retail apparel industry. Shane spent several years as a Sales Director at VF Corporation. Shane's vast understanding of retail combined with his wholesale experience will only enhance Fox's partnerships and brand leadership position.
Internationally, Julien Bretagne, VP of International Sales and Development / GM Europe, has taken the helm. Prior to joining Fox in 2012, Julien held various roles in sales and market development across Surf, Snow, Motocross and Mountain Bike Industries. Julien's global focus with Fox has included international and regional business development; he was Co-European GM prior to his recent promotion. Julien said, "This is an exciting time at Fox. We are focused, as always, on the best, most innovative products, and now even more on the dealer experience and support for the retailer of our products' sell-through."
Kevin Franks joined in 2019 as Global Marketing Director MTB. Kevin's background in cycling spans over two decades, developing global cycling brands with emphasis on branding, innovation, and new product introduction. Kevin is focused on connecting with and inspiring the mountain bike community, and continuing to make Fox the essential apparel and protective gear brand for mountain bikers around the world. Kevin said, "Because Fox has remained true to its mission to equip and inspire since 1974, the brand has earned iconic status with riders all over the world. I'm extremely honored to be a part of this team and look forward to doing the best work of my life by growing Fox through inclusion, innovation and pure stoke. Safe to say we're just getting started!"
Chad Hilton joined Fox in 2020 as VP Brand Creative and Design. Born, raised and steeped in the lifestyle of Southern California, he built his career delivering cohesive brand, creative and design ethos for motorcycle, surf and cycling's most iconic brands. Many Fox designs have been awarded for their superior performance with product test wins, Virginia Tech named Fox the top tested helmet, and rider surveys place Fox in the leading position for intent to purchase. With a head-to-toe line of apparel and protective gear, Fox has become the essential go-to brand in cycling and powersports.
On the product side, Jayson Wickenkamp, recently promoted to VP Merchandising, is an experienced motorcycle industry executive and worked across Shift and Fox for the past five years. Jayson leads the Global Product Marketing team and works closely with regional leadership to drive merchandising strategies that shape the future of Fox and Shift across Motocross, Mountain Bike, and Lifestyle. Vanessa Celati is VP Development of hard goods and soft goods. Vanessa joined Fox in 2017 and brings with her a deep background in product development and sourcing across leading action sports and fashion brands.
On to the operational and finance team, Tanya Fischesser, CFO, has been an integral part of Fox's leadership team since 2017, developing strategies in support of Fox's balanced growth and value creation mindset. She leads Finance & Accounting, Demand Planning, and Information Technology, and brings a wealth of global consumer product experience from her tenure at Procter & Gamble. She's a firm believer in putting the consumer (rider) first and is focused on modernizing Fox's digital capabilities to service consumers and retailers. Kyle Beaird joined as EVP Global Operations in July 2020, his background includes operational and financial executive leadership roles with iconic performance and lifestyle brands across cycling, baseball and fashion. Kyle brings an obsession with serving the customer operationally in a way that reduces friction and elevates the experience and the brand. Marci Gerlach joined Fox as Global VP People and Culture in 2019. She is a Human Resources leader with more than 15 years of experience in consumer products across the Action Sports, Apparel, and Lifestyle industries. Marci has dedicated her career to developing great teams across the globe.
The past few months have been an inflection point for Fox and retailers around the world. The recreational industry has seen a growth surge in participation across motorcycles, mountain bikes and electric mountain bikes with both new and returning riders. Never before has there been a better opportunity to invite new riders to join these sports. Although the shopping challenges over the past few months have led to a focus on bike unit sales, riders are now choosing apparel and equipment to complete the experience from brands they trust, like Fox.
Fox has always been driven to make the best products available, and to make great products, you need a great team. "I am extremely confident in our team and excited about what we have in the works, right now and for the future. The experience and vision they have will propel us into the next chapter of Fox," said McGuane.
For more information, go to foxracing.com.
About Fox Racing
For over four decades, Fox Racing has been the global leader in motocross and mountain biking protective gear and apparel. Fox outfits the world's best competitive action sport athletes and enthusiasts with products that combine innovation and style, rooted in the brand's original competitive motocross spirit. The company is based in Irvine, California, with offices, retail stores, and an international roster of sponsored athletes, located around the world.
