Footwear Insight

14 • Footwear Insight ~ July/August 2019 footwearinsight.com THE FOOTWEAR EYE A my Beck believes in independents. Beck, the outdoor industry veteran who took over the top spot at Bozeman, MT-based Oboz footwear on April 1, is the first person to serve as president of the brand after founder John Connelly. She's charged with leading the firm as it further integrates into the New Zealand-based Kathmandu Holdings group that acquired Oboz last year. Beck told us she's committed to nurturing all the qualities that have let Oboz take a dominant share in the outdoor and specialty footwear worlds over the past 12 years, even as the brand explores new opportunities. And one of those qualities, she said, is doubling down on the brand's commitment to independent retailers. "It's my intention to visit with everybody we do business with in the first year," she said. "I've been doing business with these people for a very long time and they know me and what I'm bringing to the table, and those longstanding relationships are really important to me, equally important as it is to John. That's why I'm in the business." Beck got to know the outdoor industry in depth at Smartwool, where she served as VP of Sales for North America — and where, she said, she got a front row seat to the acquisition process. "That's another component I can bring to the table here with Oboz, helping navigate change and ownership and being part of a bigger entity and navigate through some of what that looks like," she said. In addition to her time at Smartwool, Beck worked at VFC's former women's brand and retail operation Lucy (now a part of The North Face) and Waypoint Outdoor, all experiences, she said, that have equipped her for her new role. "This was a [chance] to actually use everything I had learned over the years, and [be a part of] this brand that's built its tenets on service and quality and specialty retail and all the things I really really believe in — and to get back to the mountains and join an awesome, growing community, that seemed like a great opportunity." But in the meantime, Beck said, she's doing her listening close to home. "I've set it up where I'm meeting with every employee individually, and they get to pick what we do in Bozeman: If they want to show me a new hike or take me to a restaurant or their favorite place in town or a bike ride, whatever it is, they get to pick," she said. "I've been on, let's see, two hikes, a breakfast, a couple of lunches and a little adventure to a new little market that opened. I'm digging it." — Jennifer Ernst Beaudry Oboz's New President Is Listening EXECUTIVE INSIGHT Oboz Arete Mid Amy Beck "It's my intention to visit with everybody we do business with in the first year."

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