West to focus on global expansion for the brand, following a period of sustained growth.
Denver, CO (February 12, 2021) – Le Bent, Australia’s beloved makers of first-on-skin layers and technical snow and outdoor socks, is pleased to announce the addition of industry veteran, Johnny West, to the team, leveraging over two decades of outdoor and action sports executive experience in strategic sales, marketing and branding for leading international sports and apparel brands. West joins Le Bent during a period of sustained growth in the face of the global pandemic.
“Despite challenging market conditions for travel-based and snow industry brands, Le Bent has continued to thrive, seeing exceptional consumer demand for the FW20/21 range,” said Simon Blondel, Le Bent Co-founder and Director. “Equally important are the talented new faces we’ve brought on over the last year – first with Erika Gurnett heading up US sales, and now with Johnny, who will surely add to that momentum and bring the best out all of us.”
A familiar name to many, West previously held roles as the General Manager of SKINS North America and prior to that, the Director of Brand and Sports Marketing for 2XU North America, as well as holding key sales and brand director positions with the likes of PrAna, K2 Snowboarding, and O’Neill early in his career. West and his wife Danielle relocated to Australia five years ago to be closer to Danielle’s family and has been consulting with a handful of emerging brands that call Australia home, including several strategy projects for Le Bent over the last 12 months.
As an avid snowboarder and skier himself, West will be involved with product testing on snow – a standard role for every member of the Le Bent crew, further lending credibility to their operation and core vision.
“Anybody that knows me knows how stoked I get on a well-designed and functional product,” said West. “When I was introduced to the Le Bent team and had the opportunity to test some of their products, I was blown away. Truly next level comfort and performance in everything Le Bent makes!”
“I’m excited to formally join the Le Bent team and to work closely with not only Simon and Anthony but the entire crew,” continued West. “With our established in-house teams in Australia and the USA, and a superstar distributor line-up, the year-round opportunities across key markets of the world are endless. It is going to be an awesome ride to collectively capitalize upon the momentum to date and play an integral part in Le Bent’s growth.”
Working remotely from his home in Sunshine Beach Queensland, West will travel frequently to the Le Bent HQ and froth center based in Sydney.
West can be reached via email at [email protected].