SAN CARLOS, Calif. (BRAIN) — Ritchey Design has made additions to its marketing staff worldwide.
In Europe, Ritchey International has signed Belling - 360° BrandCommunication team to assist in daily marketing operations, and media relations and the development of fresh marketing strategies for Ritchey in Europe. Based outside of Munich, Germany, Belling - 360° BrandCommunications was founded by industry veteran Dirk Belling, who spent many years working with SRAM and RockShox.
"Ritchey is a very valuable brand, has great people and exciting products. We've known each other for many years, now the two teams have the chance to take the brand to the next level. Positioning and building U.S. brands in Europe is what I have been doing successfully for the past 20 years. We are excited to work with a strong U.S. brand again. Thilo Durach, a former technical test editor of Mountainbike Magazine Germany just came on board and will be responsible for technical communications and media relationships," Belling said.
The Ritchey U.S. office has brought on Fergus Tanaka, who replaces Angelo Digiovine as U.S. marketing manager. Tanaka comes from a background in urban cycling, having organized some of the largest events on the West Coast for the San Francisco Bicycle Messenger Association. He also has worked with brands including Cadence, Chuey Brand, Levis, and Chrome Industries.
Both will work with Sean Coffey, Ritchey's global marketing director, to implement the company's strategic marketing initiatives.
"Ritchey has a lot planned for 2015 and beyond and without doubt marketing will be a key component to our continued growth," said Ritchey CEO Claudio Bianchi. "We are fortunate to have these talented and experienced additions on our team as we move ahead."
