New Era® Adds Senior Level Resources To Support Continued Growth

BUFFALO, N.Y., Aug. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- New Era®, the global lifestyle brand made famous for its premium headwear, has made significant additions to its leadership team. As the brand continues to grow, over 100 positions have been filled since the beginning of 2011 with an emphasis on recruiting for senior management roles. This high-level talent plays an integral part in supporting the brand's portfolio of licensing partners, product offerings and new market expansion.

New Era has made significant strides in becoming a marketing focused brand and has recently hired key individuals with strong brand experience from top-tier consumer/lifestyle companies such as Nike, Coca-Cola, Timberland and DC Shoes.

"These key leadership resources will focus their energies on building, leveraging and protecting the equity of the brand," said Pete Augustine, President of New Era. "With this level of talent on-board, we can continue to deliver a unified and consistent message from Marketing to Product."

Recent leadership additions include:

Evan Jones has assumed the role of Vice President, Global Marketing/Chief Marketing Officer at New Era. He's charged with focusing the brand's worldwide marketing efforts to ensure consistent and strategic alignment. He will lead his team to develop global brand strategies and platforms that will be activated through collaborations with the Product, Sales and Marketing Teams. Evan has extensive experience in the consumer products industry. He previously held the title of the Senior Vice President, Global Marketing at DC Shoes leading multiple high level campaigns and developing long-term plans to increase revenue. Additionally, as Global Business Manager at Nike, Evan was responsible for all aspects of brand and consumer marketing efforts for divisions like Basketball and Field Sports.

John Behling, Director, North American Marketing, joined the company in April. His primary responsibility is executing on strategic opportunities that focus on elevating brand awareness, consumer engagement and product marketing efforts. John has a strong background in working with lifestyle brands. Most recently, as the Director of Marketing at Coca-Cola, he led the organization in staff engagement, scoring double digit growth in all categories. John's career is rounded out by holding positions at well-known brands including MasterCraft Boat Company and Red Bull.

Ben Ewy in the new role of Creative Director, is responsible for ensuring a consistent look and feel for the brand's global headwear lines as well as, developing a long-term vision that includes seasonal product strategies and new product concepts. Ben will work closely with the Global Marketing and Global Merchandising teams as well as the Apparel and Accessories teams, to ensure global product alignment. With an extensive background in product development, Ben has experience working with brands such as Springs Global and Nautica International.

Arlene Kay joined New Era as Director, Global Merchandising Lifestyle in August. In this role, she will align and shape the brand's lifestyle headwear assortment on a global level. Arlene is responsible for working with all of the regional business teams to create globally relevant product lines. She has a proven track record of managing product lines in a lifestyle environment for brands such as Osh Kosh B'Gosh and Timberland.

Josh Cherin fills the newly created role of Business Unit Director, Accessories. He has been tasked with developing and driving the brand's emerging global accessory business. Previously, Cherin owned his own accessories business and worked in leadership roles at David Textile, Inc. and Max Ray, Inc.

Wayne Best has assumed the new role of Global Director, Consumer Marketing. In this position, he will work to develop and implement strategies that drive consumer engagement for key New Era consumer segments including sports and fashion/lifestyle. Wayne has been with New Era for more than 9 years, most recently as Director, EMEA Marketing. Wayne has recently returned to the U.S. to work out of New Era's Irvine, CA office.

Paul Gils joined New Era in January as Vice President, EMEA. Paul works closely with New Era's President and CEO to fully develop and implement the brand's long term strategic plan in EMEA. He brings more than 18 years of industry experience working with brands such as Nike, Columbia Sportswear and Reebok.

Matthew Griffiths has taken on the role of Marketing Director, EMEA. In his role, Matthew is responsible for elevating brand awareness and executing global marketing initiatives in EMEA. Matthew brings a wealth of knowledge and experience coming from notable brands including G-Star Footwear, French Connection, L'Oreal and Habitat.

And finally, David Padilla joins New Era as Country Manager, Mexico. In this role, he will develop and manage the New Era brand and build a sustainable and profitable business throughout Mexico. Formerly, David worked as a Commercial Director at Levi Strauss & Co. and a Commercial Operations Senior Manager at the Adidas Group.

The Buffalo-based company will continue to add to its growing workforce with executive-level positions including VP/General Manager of North America, Senior Director Global Human Resources and Director of Innovation.

About New Era

New Era is an international lifestyle brand with an authentic sports heritage that dates back over 90 years. The brand is best known for being the official on-field cap for Major League Baseball and the official cap for the National Football League. New Era is the brand of choice not only for its headwear collections, but also for its accessories and apparel lines for men, women and youth. The brand is worn as a symbol of self-expression by athletes, artists and some of the most interesting people around the globe. New Era encourages people to "FLY YOUR OWN FLAG™" - to truly express their personal style and individuality through its products. The Company is headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y. and operates facilities in Canada, Europe, Brazil, Japan and Hong Kong. For more information, visit www.neweracap.com.

SOURCE New Era