LAKEWOOD, CO--(Marketwired - November 29, 2016) - Christy Sports, a specialty retailer of ski and snowboard equipment, apparel, and accessories, is pleased to announce the appointment of Matt Gold as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective February 2017. Gold will join Christy Sports with more than 20 years of experience building consumer businesses and brands at Amer Sports Corporation, one of the world's leading sporting goods company.
Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, Christy Sports is one of the largest winter sports specialty retailers in the nation with more than 50 locations in Colorado, Utah and Washington. The appointment of a new CEO has been a key part of the Company's strategic plan over the last year. Gold will succeed Patrick O'Winter, a Christy Sports shareholder since 1995 and CEO since 2002 when he bought control of the Company. During O'Winter's tenure as CEO, Christy Sports doubled revenue and grew profitability eight-fold. O'Winter will serve as Chairman of the Board and remain actively engaged in the business when Gold steps into the CEO role.
With proven experience in brand management, new business development, M&A, sales & marketing, and retail & e-commerce, Gold is a seasoned executive leader whose prior career experience will be leveraged to help further build and execute Christy Sports' growth strategy. Gold currently resides in Shanghai, China and will relocate to Colorado in February.
During his career at Amer, he most recently served as General Manager, Asia Pacific where he was responsible for the full financial performance, integrated go-to-market operations and overall regional strategy development for the company and its brands, including Salomon, Wilson Sporting Goods, Atomic Skis, Arc'teryx, Mavic, Suunto and Precor. Gold also was a member of the Amer Sports Executive Board since 2010 -- during this period Amer marked six consecutive years of organic growth globally and in the Asia Pacific region.
O'Winter, stated, "Matt's success at Amer proves his ability to successfully scale businesses. He understands everything that is needed to make a business bigger and stronger, from the systems and processes to the technology and operations, to the sales and marketing efforts needed to achieve growth. His core leadership philosophy nicely aligns to what we have already implemented at Christy, and I am confident he will work hard to retain, if not further build, our team's dedication to customer loyalty and execution of our mission to exceed customer expectations through outstanding service, and longstanding relationships with passionate snow sports enthusiasts. The entire Christy Sports team is excited for him to come on board in February."
Gold stated, "I'm honored to join the Christy Sports team, and I look forward to leading the business and organization to a bright future. What Patrick and his team have accomplished is impressive indeed. I'm keen to leverage the company's healthy core business and passionate culture in a strategic direction to continue winning in a changing marketplace. As a professional business leader and passionate sportsman, I am excited for this opportunity to create value for Christy Sports and its employees by working together to innovate the business and inspire consumers."
In addition to offering a broad selection of retail merchandise in its stores and through multiple e-commerce sites, Christy Sports offers a wide range of equipment servicing capabilities and is a leading provider of rental services to customers offering the latest and best equipment available in the marketplace. During the winter off-season, Christy Sports operates a highly-profitable and growing outdoor furniture retail business, enabling it to leverage operational infrastructure, employees and distribution facilities. For additional information, visit christysports.com.
