Tom Hartge Joins Patagonia's Footwear Team

VENTURA, Calif. (May, 2011) — Patagonia Inc., the enviro-minded apparel company, announces that Tom Hartge has been hired to serve in an advisory capacity at the company. During a 28-year Nike career, Hartge held various positions in product marketing, product merchandising, general management, advanced research and design, corporate and business philanthropy. Hartge’s initial efforts will be to serve as the liaison between Patagonia Footwear and Wolverine World Wide, the global licensor of Patagonia footwear to collaborate and align product initiatives, brand stories and business goals.

“I consider Hartge to be the premier footwear product marketer in the world,” notes Casey Sheahan, Patagonia’s CEO, “We worked together 20 years ago at Nike where he introduced a series of running product innovations that changed the industry forever. When we heard Tom was a free agent, we jumped at the chance to bring him on board. His role will be pivotal in bringing Patagonia Footwear to the next level.”

Hartge is best known as one of the chief architects of Nike Running’s global success. A self-described product fanatic and avid runner, Hartge has participated in 25 Boston marathons and now counts snowboarding and yoga as other athletic passions. He also has strong expertise in corporate philanthropic efforts through his work as director of Nike’s World Shoe Project and as GM of Lance Armstrong’s LIVESTRONG program.

“Yvon Chouinard is a hero of mine and the chance to work with Casey and the Patagonia team is a dream come true,” says Tom Hartge, “I have admired Patagonia’s brand and product ethos for thirty years. It’ll be amazing to take my thirty years of work experience and apply it at a company that I truly believe in.”

Patagonia looks forward to working with Tom in incorporating both his footwear expertise and his passion for product marketing to advance the aesthetics, performance and technicality of the Patagonia Footwear offering.


About Patagonia
Patagonia, with sales last year of over $400M, is noted internationally for its commitment to product quality and environmental activism. Incorporating environmental responsibility in to product development, the company has, since 1996, used only organically grown cotton in its clothing line. With its most recent launch of synthetic fiber-to-fiber recycling, Patagonia is taking back worn-out polyester and nylon clothing and reincarnating it as new products, forever capturing the raw materials used in making virgin fiber. The company also advocates corporate transparency through its interactive website, The Footprint Chronicles, which outlines the environmental and social footprint of individual products. Patagonia was featured as The Coolest Company on the Planet on Fortune Magazine’s April 2007 cover.

Contact:
Jen Rapp, Patagonia, 805.667.4768, jen_rapp@patagonia.com