Yoshikazu Ishimoto, former president of Descente, died last Dec. 12, aged 77. He was the son of the Japanese company's founder, Takeo Ishimoto, and worked for the company for 52 years. Father and son were among the first to recognize the importance of testing and research to optimize the features of performance clothing. Descente was Adidas' licensee in Japan for many years, and took on licenses for many other brands. Yoshikazu acted as president from 1982 to 1994. He then switched to the chairmanship, which he held until 2008.

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