Scarpa, a leading Italian company in the production of mountaineering, climbing, hiking, trail running and ski mountaineering footwear, has announced Jonathan Degenhardt as the new CEO of its subsidiary in North America. Along with Degenhardt’s addition, two longtime managers will be promoted to new leadership positions with additional responsibilities at Scarpa North America. Mark Mathews, currently VP of Sales, becomes Chief Commercial Officer, and Joe Higby, currently VP of Finance, becomes VP of Finance and Operations. Degenhardt will join the company in mid-April and will spend a transition period working with Kim Miller, CEO of Scarpa North America, who will retire early next year.
«I want to express my sincere thanks to Kim for 20 years of collaboration. In the process of expanding our presence in North America, he brought a high level of expertise and dedication, and a deep knowledge of the brand” declared Sandro Parisotto, president of Scarpa. «Over the years, we have worked closely to grow the brand’s awareness in the US and Canadian markets and to ensure that Scarpa is well known and honored. At the helm of our North American subsidiary, Kim has made a significant contribution to strengthening Scarpa’s positioning in these key markets, always working in close alignment with our headquarters and consistently embodying our company values.”
Degenhardt joins Scarpa from Deuter USA and Ortovox USA, where he has been managing director for these two European brands for the past six years. For Degenhardt, it’s a return to square one, having worked in sales for Scarpa when the company began operations in North America 20 years ago. Mathews’ responsibilities in his new role as Chief Commercial Officer of Scarpa North America will continue to include sales oversight, expanding to product category development, line planning, merchandising, market research and go-to-market strategy.
In his new role as VP of Finance and Operations, Higby’s responsibilities will grow to include Scarpa North America’s operations, including oversight of supply chain and logistics, distribution and systems administration.
“Our strategy is not simply to hire a new CEO for North America, but also to promote incumbent members of our internal executive team to new positions to support the CEO,” said Stefano Trentin, Scarpa’s global Co-CEO, from the company’s headquarters and manufacturing center in Asolo, Italy. “This will provide a solid foundation for growth based on institutional knowledge and continuity of corporate culture and brand values, while adding a new perspective on how the business is run.”
Degenhardt brings more than 25 years of experience in the outdoor industry, from executive-level leadership to overseeing a marketing department, from sales leadership to operations coordination, to management roles in specialty outdoor retail. He also has extensive experience across categories across footwear, apparel and equipment.
“Jonathan’s combination of experience and management acumen is truly what made him the right candidate for this role,” said Trentin. “His industry journey is diverse and demonstrates that he can lead at an executive level with the benefit of personal experience across all aspects of the business.”
Degenhardt said Scarpa’s approach to this transition, promoting historic internal leaders and overlapping and sharing knowledge with outgoing CEO Miller, creates the conditions for future success.
«Doing all this in a truly conscious way and taking into account the entire team clearly speaks to Scarpa’s commitment to success. This will enable us to generate change rather than react to change,” Degenhardt said. “It seems like the ideal way to take on this responsibility. This is a category and a brand that I love. Every aspect of the brand speaks to me, heritage, quality, performance, sustainability, innovation. My first climbing shoes were Scarpa, my first ski boots were Scarpa, so it really feels like coming home.”
Miller said Scarpa’s plan to have an overlap between the outgoing and incoming CEOs in North America demonstrates the company’s commitment to this market: “I believe Jonathan is an excellent choice for this position. And I appreciate that we have a succession plan that allows for a significant period of overlap, team building and the opportunity to combine our collective experience and knowledge with a new and fresh perspective on Scarpa,” said Miller. «Building Scarpa North America and being its leader for the last 20 years has been the greatest honor and privilege of my professional career. I am deeply grateful to the Parisotto family for this opportunity, and I am incredibly proud of our company, our team and what we have built together.”
