Steve Meineke has agreed to act as president of Keen Footwear, starting on June 1. He comes from Accell Group, the big Dutch-based bicycle manufacturing group, where he led its North American subsidiary for the past two years. He previously acted as president of Raleigh America, now a property of Accell.
Meineke's first big job in the sector was global marketing manager at Salomon North America, which he did from 1980 to 1987. He then worked as vice president and sales and marketing manager for Vuarnet sunglasses and apparel, going on to be president of Nordica USA, then president of Specialized Bicycle Components, and thereafter chief executive of Mission Hockey.
Keen has been without a president since the departure in May 2012 of James Curleigh, the former Salomon executive who left after four years to became president of the Levi's brand. A former CEO of Specialized, Mike Abbott, was going to act as Keen's president from last July, but left before the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market.
Curleigh had been acting as both president and chief executive of Keen. Since his departure, the CEO's function has been held on-and-off by the company's founder and chairman, Rory Fuerst, and he will retain this title. A former Nike executive, Kirk Richardson, had two tours of duty as Keen's CEO from 2006 to 2008 and again from 2012 until Abbott's appointment.
