Black Diamond Announces Key Hires and Promotions to Executive, Product and International Sales Teams

March 9, 2017

Black Diamond Equipment®, a global leader of innovative active outdoor performance equipment and apparel, has appointed Trent Bush as its vice president of apparel and Radhika Ray to the newly created position of vice president of strategy and investor relations for Black Diamond, Inc. Additionally, Stephan Hagenbusch was promoted to vice president of international sales and Johann Friembichler was appointed to director of finance and human resources for Black Diamond Europe.

“These hires are tremendous industry players who bolster our global operations team in key areas of focus,” said John Walbrecht, president of Black Diamond Equipment. “We look forward to their contributions having a positive influence on bringing Black Diamond Equipment back to its roots, while also enhancing our brand equity through innovation in adjacent product categories.”

As Black Diamond Equipment’s new vice president of apparel, Trent Bush will lead a team that will directly address Black Diamond Equipment’s core consumers through performance and innovation, relying on Bush’s decades of technical outerwear experience.

“Black Diamond has always been the brand of reference in all aspects of purpose-driven design and innovation in technical equipment,” said Bush. “It is a unique challenge and great opportunity to apply my knowledge and skills to a brand as unrelenting as Black Diamond, and especially to the brand’s core users who are just as demanding. At Black Diamond Equipment, innovation isn’t just expected, it is required.”

Bush previously worked as vice president of product and design at Mountain Hardwear. He also founded Trent Bush Design + Create, a firm designed to fit the needs of brands in the areas of apparel, industrial and graphic design, development and production.

Prior to that, Bush’s experience include co-founding Brandbase, the parent company of the Section, Nomis and Technine brands, leaders in the lifestyle and snowboard markets; acting as creative manager for Burton Snowboards softgoods; and co-creating Analog clothing, a leading specialty-focused division of Burton. He has also worked on advanced design projects for a diverse selection of leading brands, including Fjallraven, Outdoor Research, Hestra, Marmot, Pearl Izumi, Spyder, Nike’s Savier footwear and Twist Clothing.

At Black Diamond Europe, Stephan Hagenbusch was promoted from director of sales and marketing to vice president of international sales. In his newly expanded role, Hagenbusch will oversee sales in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America. Hagenbusch previously served as a marketing and communications consultant for Haglofs, Cascade Designs and Salomon. Previously, he worked for Amer Sports as head of marketing and business-to-consumer for central Europe for all Amer brands, including Arc’Teryx, Atomic, Salomon and Suunto.

Johann Friembichler, who joined Black Diamond Europe in November 2016, has been appointed to director of finance and human resources and will serve as a part of Black Diamond Europe’s senior management team.

Lastly, holding company Black Diamond, Inc. created the new role of vice president of strategy and investor relations with the appointment of Radhika Ray. Ray will leverage her background in operations and executive leadership to further streamline Black Diamond Equipment’s operations, to communicate organizational strategies to the investor community and to assist with the holding company’s redeployment and diversification strategy.

Ray joined the Company from New Avon, a Cerberus company, where she served as executive director, sales analytics and strategy. While there, she led a team across sales analytics, operations and strategy, to help transform Avon’s business by driving a culture of execution excellence.

###

About Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd.

Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd. is a global leader in creating innovative outdoor engineered equipment and apparel for climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, skiing and a wide range of other year-round outdoor activities. Black Diamond Equipment, and its sister brand PIEPS™, are synonymous with performance, innovation, durability and safety in the outdoor consumer community. Headquartered in Salt Lake City at the base of the Wasatch Mountains, our products are designed and exhaustively tested by an engaged team of discerning entrepreneurs and engineers. The Black Diamond Equipment culture of precision and excellence enhance the authenticity of our brands, inspire product innovation and strengthen customer loyalty. Black Diamond Equipment’s products are sold in approximately 50 countries around the world. For additional information, please visit our website at www.blackdiamondequipment.com or www.pieps.com.