Seasoned Product Leader Personifies Brand’s Relentless Commitment To Elevate The Running Experience Through Performance Innovation
LEXINGTON, MA (April 12, 2016) - Saucony, a division of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW), and a leading global performance footwear and apparel brand, announced the appointment of Thomas Hartge to Senior Vice President of Global Footwear for the Saucony brand, effective immediately. Hartge succeeds Patrick O’Malley, who was recently appointed to President of Saucony. In his new role, Hartge, who will report directly to O’Malley, will be responsible for creating and executing Saucony’s global brand footwear creation and marketing strategy, including design, development and product engineering.
Hartge brings over 30 years of experience in performance running footwear, the majority of which was spent at Nike where he worked in a variety of senior product and global management roles, including Global Brand Director for Nike Running and Creative Director of Advanced Initiatives. Most recently, Hartge was Executive Vice President of Global Footwear at Quicksilver, Inc., one of the world's largest manufacturers of surfwear and other boardsport-related equipment.
In making today’s announcement, O’Malley said: "Tom personifies Saucony’s relentless commitment to elevate the running experience through performance innovation. As the brand continues to outpace market growth, it’s critical that we have someone who embraces this philosophy; ultimately, it’s at the heart of everything we do. Tom’s proven track record of success, industry credibility and passion for product innovation position him perfectly to accelerate our growth in the competitive global running market. His leadership and passion for running are great cultural fits for us, and we look forward to the positive impact he will bring to our brand and team as we continue to inspire runners everywhere."
"I’m excited to be part of the Saucony team for so many reasons, most of all to work with a group of passionate people who love nothing more than empowering runners with extraordinary product," said Hartge. "The brand has created a very strong culture of innovation based on one important question: What is better for the runner? I look forward to working with the team to answer that question every day, not only to contribute to the brand’s continued success but to deliver the most inspired running experience possible."
Hartge has a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College. He will be running his 31st Boston Marathon on April 18th.
Today’s announcement comes as Saucony’s ongoing commitment to product innovation and performance continues to earn significant industry awards for the brand. Saucony has been repeatedly recognized by Runner’s World for its exceptionally innovative and industry-leading products that focus on every aspect of the runner’s stride, including these most recent "Editor’s Choice" awards from the publication’s editors:
- Peregrine 6 - 2016 Spring Trail Shoe Guide
- Hurricane ISO 2 - 2016 Spring Shoe Guide
- Triumph ISO 2 - 2015 Winter Shoe Guide
About Saucony: Saucony, a division of Wolverine Worldwide, is a leading global running lifestyle brand that fuses performance, innovation and style to create compelling footwear and apparel with its widely recognized brands Saucony and Saucony Originals. Founded in 1898, Saucony continues to inspire runners everywhere with its award winning innovations, including EVERUN(TM), ISOFIT(TM), Geometry of Strong(TM), PWRGRID+(TM), and the Total Run System(TM) apparel line. At Saucony, a good day is when we get to run. A great day is when we inspire someone else to run. For more information, go to Saucony.com.
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
