Cascade Designs Expands Sales and IT Departments with Three New Hires

May 27, 2021

Tim Lau joins the Cascade team as the new International Sales Manager; Jenni Schmidt, as the Senior Sales & Operations Manager, and Mirza Beg, as the new IT Director.

SEATTLE, Wash. (May 27, 2021) – Cascade Designs; the parent company of MSR, Therm-a-Rest, Platypus, SealLine, PackTowl and Varilite; announces three new hires in their sales and IT departments. Tim Lau will be joining the team as International Sales Manager for Canada and APAC, Jenni Schmidt will work as Senior Sales & Operations Manager, and Mirza Beg will serve as the IT Director.

Lau brings more than 30 years of experience in the outdoor industry to his role at Cascade Designs. Before moving to the brand, he served in key account and national sales management roles with Yeti Cycles, The Timberland Co., The North Face, and more. Lau started skiing, cycling and backpacking at an early age in the Midwest and developed a passion for the outdoors that moved him west to Colorado and eventually to Seattle.  When not selling or out exploring the PNW, Tim and his wife Nancy enjoy good food and wine, international travel and continuing the never-ending remodel of their midcentury Seattle home.

“I’m very excited to be at Cascade Designs and to be working with our partners in Canada and the APAC region,” said Lau. “I look forward to supporting an amazing collection of brands and working with some great people, several of whom I’ve known and worked with in the past.”

Schmidt joins Cascade Designs as a Senior Sales & Operations Manager after working in sales at Atlas Networks, Glowforge, Rover, and REI. In her most recent role, she managed Atlas Networks’ team of Customer Service and Technical Support Representatives and developed several product and performance improvement initiatives to drive customer satisfaction.

“I am excited to rejoin the outdoor industry after working in the tech world. I’m an outdoor enthusiast and have been religiously using my Cascade Designs products for years,” said Schmidt. “I’ve been so impressed by the amazing team that I get to work with and am looking forward to tackling the challenges that the team has been facing.”

Beg’s dynamic career spans 24 years of experience running IT operations in various industries from aerospace to agriculture, construction and consumer goods. He brings a diverse skill set in technology from applications, infrastructure, as well as strategic planning and execution. In his most recent role, he led the effort to modernize his company’s technology footprint with the introduction of robotic process automations and migration to cloud infrastructure. Beg is passionate about traveling the globe, exploring different cultures, and experiencing the natural beauty the planet has to offer.

For more information about Cascade Designs, and its award-winning outdoor gear, please visit: https://www.cascadedesigns.com/

About Cascade Designs^®

For more than 45 years, Seattle-based Cascade Designs, Inc. and its brands, Therm-a-Rest®, Mountain Safety Research® (MSR), Platypus®, SealLine®, PackTowl® and Varialite® have led the outdoor industry in designing innovative, useful and long-lasting equipment, manufacturing the majority of products in their Seattle, WA, and Reno, NV, U.S.A. and Cork, Ireland facilities. From the original self-inflating Therm-a-Rest® camping mattress to the first multi-fuel stove from MSR®, Cascade Designs has developed leading products that explorers, travelers, adventurers, outdoor enthusiasts and weekend campers can rely on to deliver optimum performance in the outdoors through exceptional engineering and quality. For more information, please visit: www.cascadedesigns.com.