Franco Fogliato Named President & CEO Of Salomon
Amer Sports Corporation (“Amer Sports”) has announced the appointment of outdoor sporting goods and sportswear industry executive, and seasoned global operator Franco Fogliato to the role of President and CEO for Salomon, the global outdoor brand specializing in footwear, apparel and winter sports equipment. The appointment is effective no later than March 15, 2022. In this new role, Fogliato will lead the Salomon global expansion to become a leading outdoor brand, mountain inspired.
“As we enter this next phase of growth for Salomon, we are excited to welcome Franco to the Amer Sports team,” said James Zheng, Board Executive Director and CEO of Amer Sports. “Franco brings a great mix of global brand business leadership experience from the sportswear industry, and omni-channel expertise which will be invaluable as we accelerate Salomon’s omni-channel strategies across our global markets and position the brand for long-term success. With Franco’s leadership and deep experience in engineering profitable growth for leading sportswear brands, I am confident that Salomon can reach the next level and we look forward to his contributions.”
Fogliato brings more than two decades of sporting goods and sportwear industry expertise and executive leadership experience to Salomon. He has a proven record of innovative brand-building and omni-channel transformation at leading global brands, including VF The North Face, the Billabong group and Columbia Sportswear Company and has been based in both Europe and North America. Most recently, he has served as Executive Vice President Global Omni-Channel for Columbia Sportswear based in Portland, USA.
Fogliato said, “Salomon is an inspiring brand that represents the pinnacle of design and innovation. I’m thrilled to join this talented team to extend their track record of success and to build new capabilities to lead the brand to a new phase of growth.”
Fogliato succeeds Jean-Marc Pambet who returned from retirement as interim Leader for Salomon in January 2021. “We sincerely thank Jean-Marc for his strong leadership and contributions in leading Salomon through this interim period, and for returning from retirement to help the company, after having completed a distinguished 34-year career with Salomon,” said Zheng.
Prior to his appointment at Salomon Franco Fogliato was the Executive Vice President and General Manager Americas for Columbia Sportswear, a premier sports retailer and vendor of apparel and equipment for a variety of sports, including surfing, kite boarding, skating, snowboarding, and skiing. In his executive leadership role, Mr. Fogliato made the most of his extensive forecasting, brand management, product, omnichannel distribution, sales and marketing skills, expertly running the company’s subsidiary in the Americas, managing profit and loss statements and balance sheets of the Columbia Sportswear Group of brands, and reported to the President and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Sportswear and he is part of the Executive Board. He previously worked as the Senior Vice President and General Manager EMEA. Over the course of an illustrious career which has spanned nearly two decades, Mr. Fogliato has built on an ever-emergent skill set, and he continues to nurture his talents, striving for excellence in his every endeavor.
Mr. Fogliato was inspired to pursue his current career due to his interest in sports and his strong, extensive background in business. He served as the CEO of Europe for GSM Europe which is a subsidiary of the Billabong Group, between 2004 and 2013. There, he was responsible for managing P&L, as well as balance sheets, and reporting to the international CEO. He feels that he has been able to thrive professionally because he enjoys the environment in which he works and is able to combine a passion with business; he has always been involved in brand management and omni-channel distribution, keeping his foot in the door and remaining abreast of trends and developments in the field. He holds an MBA in General Management from Open University Business School in the United Kingdom. In the years to come, Mr. Fogliato intends to continue to focus on growing businesses within the sportswear market continuing to enjoy his passion for sports while creating shareholders' value in long term growing market and industry. In his spare time, he takes pleasure in playing sports and exploring the great outdoors, spending time with his family, and long-distance running.
