KENT, Wash. (BRAIN) — Accell North America has appointed W. John Short as its new CEO. Short will oversee all Accell Group operations and investments in North America and will report to newly appointed Accell Group's global CEO and Management Board Chairman, Ton Anbeek.
Short has been working with ANA on a contract basis for several months as it readjusted operations following the collapse of its sporting goods channel sales. Short's appointment comes a few days after ANA confirmed that it had hired Stuart Johnson to head up its omnichannel sales program as its chief marketing & digital officer. The company said that "all key leadership positions" at ANA are now filled. As previously reported by BRAIN, Larry Pizzi is adding North American brick-and-mortar sales to his role as president of Raleigh Electric and ANA sales.
In January ANA announced its North American omnichannel strategy, a program that includes incentives for brick-and-mortar retailers to get involved with fulfilling online bike orders with little or no on-floor inventory requirements.
Short has 30 years of executive level experience leading consumer goods, technology, and financial brands in the U.S., Europe, Asia and South America. He has worked for global consumer goods companies including Esprit, Joe Boxer and Sunglass Hut and led a number of complex restructuring and turnarounds in Europe, Asia and the U.S., Accell said in a statement Thursday. Short also spent more than a decade at Citibank where he led corporate banking activities and non-bank businesses in Hong Kong, as well as corporate banking and government lending activities in Venezuela and Ecuador.
"ANA's omnichannel strategy is revolutionary for the North American bicycle industry and for consumers at all levels of cycling enthusiasm," said Short. "It represents a significant transition toward building a more sustainable and profitable business for ANA and our IBD partners while providing a superior buying and after purchase experience for consumers. I'm excited to be part of this forward-thinking organization."
In the Thursday statement, ANA said, "Short's leadership will prioritize transparency, integrity and mutually beneficial strategic partnerships with IBDs and others while delivering enhanced consumer experiences across all distribution channels."
ANA sells Raleigh, Diamondback and Redline bikes as well as Raleigh Electric, iZip and Haibike e-bikes. ANA is also the largest investor in the Beeline mobile bike service franchiser.
Related links:
- Accell appoints Stuart Johnson to lead omnichannel efforts — Feb. 27, 2018
- Accell announces new omnichannel program — Jan. 19. 2018
- Accell reorganizes North American operations after loss of Dick's business — Nov. 11, 2017
- Longtime Accell exec Chris Speyer to join REI — Sept. 28, 2017
- Accell expands omnichannel distribution with Raleigh in Amazon — Dec. 1, 2016
- Accell North America to fulfill bike orders through Beeline Bikes. — Sept. 16, 2016
- Raleigh USA to launch online sales in April — March 9, 2016
- Restructuring shakes up Accell North America — May 6, 2014
