After an eight-year absence, Chris Melton has returned to British running, hiking and fitness brand inov-8 as the new global category manager for cross training. Starting March 14, he is also responsible for the sales of footwear and apparel in Central and South America.
Melton, originally from the U.S., previously worked for inov-8 between 2011 and 2014, where he held the position of GM Americas and head of fitness & training. During that time, he helped oversee major growth in the U.S. training category, fueled by the success of the brand’s F-Lite footwear. After leaving inov-8, he spent five years at Vibram from 2014 to 2019, managing all Vibram FiveFingers and Furoshiki business in North and South America, as well as sales in Australia and Japan. He then worked for Gill Marine, a sailing and fishing apparel company. Most recently, he was head of North America at Runderwear, a British running underwear brand.
Wayne Edy, who founded inov-8 in 2003, commented, “I am delighted that Chris is back. He has a tremendous wealth of experience as well as a deep knowledge and love for the inov-8 brand. I’m confident he can help lead the brand to significant global growth in the exciting cross training category.”
