MANUFACTURING
Speedo USA Gets a New President
There has been a five-month vacancy for the top spot at Speedo USA after Jim Gerson left last May.
But John Graham, previously senior vice president of sales for Speedo USA, has been named to take over the job as president.
The announcement was made on Oct. 19 by Speedo USA’s parent company PVH Corp.
Prior to joining Speedo USA, Graham spent two years as the senior vice president of sales for surf and snowboarding at Quiksilver where he focused on e-commerce and North American sales while overseeing a 160-person team.
Before that, he worked with Easton Bell Sports, which was later sold to Bauer Performance Sports, as senior vice president of commerce. Graham began his career at Nike where he spent 18 years, leaving the company as commercial director for Nike Action Sports.
“John brings a depth of experience in the sports industry to Speedo USA, and we are thrilled to have him lead the business,” said Ken Duane, chief executive of Heritage Brands and North America Wholesale of PVH. “He possesses the ideal blend of sales expertise, success in building strong teams and intuitive sports business sense.’
Graham replaces Gerson, who left Speedo USA in May just months before the Summer Olympics in Brazil. He had been with Speedo USA since 2010.
Gerson helped move the swimwear brand’s corporate headquarters from downtown Los Angeles to Cypress, Calif., where the company moved into a 68,000-square-foot building with a swimming pool for testing product.
