Columbia Sportswear announced that Franco Fogliato, executive vice president of global omnichannel since Nov. 2020 and executive VP and general manager for the Americas since 2017, has informed the company of his intention to leave after a short transition period ending Sept. 3, 2021. Fogliato joined the group in 2013 as SVP and GM for the EMEA region after nearly 10 years as CEO of GSM Europe, the European subsidiary of the Billabong Group. Prior to that, he was GM for Western Europe at VF Corp. from 2000 until 2003. He started his career in the outdoor industry as sales manager at The North Face in 1998. Tim Boyle, CEO of Columbia Sportswear, said Fogliato ”helped power growth in the Columbia brand, bringing us to a record of $3 billion in net sales in 2019. His understanding of markets and the dynamic nature of how our consumers are interacting with our products has been key to the success of the company in recent years. He has been a guiding force for our company, and he will be missed.”
