Who’s on the move: Changes at Helly Hansen, Polartec, Icebreaker, OIA and more

• Helly Hansen, in Oslo Norway, named Graham Gephart as its new senior marketing manager for North America. Gephart will oversee regional strategy, advertising, retail marketing, public relations, social media and marketing collaborations with more than 40 North American resort and guiding operations. Gephart previously served as global brand manager for K2 Outdoor Group where he oversaw marketing and brand efforts for Atlas Snow-Shoe Company, Tubbs Snowshoes, PowdeRidge Snowshoes and Madshus Nordic equipment. He also previously worked as managing editor of Couloir. Helly Hansen officials said the company is expanding its marketing, merchandising and product positions in North America, following new majority ownership under the Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan in 2012.

• Gregory Mountain Products, in Salt Lake City, Utah, named Frontier Equipment, led by Dean Orange and Ben Ryan, as its Australian distributor. They will focus on connecting Gregory with outdoor customers in greater Australia. Gregory officially will launch in Australia at the SOTA Outdoor Trade Show in Canberra, May 5-7 2013, and shortly afterward will begin selling through premium outdoor specialty retailers.

• Polartec, in Lawrence, Mass., hired Colin True as account manager for its Southwest U.S. territory. True will be based out of his home in Park City and will service Polartec partner brands in Utah and Southern California including Patagonia and Black Diamond Equipment. True previously worked at GU Energy Labs, where he assembled and manager a team of independent sales agencies to grow the GU brand.

• Icebreaker, in Wellington New Zealand, named Kristen Celko as vice president of e-commerce and digital marketing. Celko will direct Icebreaker’s global eCommerce strategy and be responsible for building all eCommerce business and digital marketing campaigns. She will be based at Icebreaker’s U.S. headquarters in Portland, Ore.

• Outdoor Industry Association, in Boulder, Colo., hired Jessica Wahl as its policy manager for recreation. Wahl will promote OIA’s recreation policy goals, focusing on securing increased funding and access for the national outdoor recreation system and federal public land policies that support outdoor recreation. She will work from OIA’s Washington, D.C., offices. Wahl comes from the Department of the Interior, where she worked in the office of the secretary and the director’s office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2010, she joined DOI’s newly established Office of Youth in the Great Outdoors, where she coordinated national listening sessions, strategy and implementation of the America’s Great Outdoors Youth Report to the president. In this role, Wahl also managed the first lady’s Let’s Move Outside! and Let’s Move! In Indian Country initiatives on behalf of the DOI and other agencies.

• Kill Cliff Recovery Drink, in Atlanta Georgia, tapped Denny Ink., led by Chris Denny, as the company’s new public relations agency of record. Founded by a former U.S. Navy SEAL, Kill Cliff aims to help athletes reduce inflammation in recovery.

• The Mann Group, in Weaverville N.C., has named Darby Communications, led by Coral Darby, the company’s public relations agency of record to educate the cycling, outdoors and running markets about The Mann Group’s retail services and products, which help increase sales and profitability for shops and manufacturers while enhancing the customer’s shopping experience.

• Moji, in Glenview, Ill., recently hired OutsidePR headed by Gordon Wright to represent it for a wide-ranging public relations campaign in 2013. Moji makes self-massage products for the active world, including the Moji 360 Massager and Moji 360 Mini Massager to alleviate things like soreness, fatigue, stiffness and plantar fasciitis.

Have news of a new hire or promotion within the outdoor industry? Let us know at news@snewsnet.com.

–Compiled by David Clucasand Ana Trujillo