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  Clark Gundlach. Shop-eat-surf file photo.

Longtime Burton employee Clark Gundlach has left his SVP of Sales job to take a senior snow executive position at Quiksilver.

 

Gundlach is well known in the snow world with both specialty accounts and large chains. His title during one point of his tenure at Burton was general manager.

 

Gundlach is the second key Burton employee Quiksilver had hired for its snow division.

 

In August 2010, it hired Mike “Chief” Nusenow, Burton’s former SVP of Global Marketing, to the position of SVP and General Manager, Mountain Division.

 

Quiksilver declined to comment about Gundlach.

 

After Gundlach’s surprise departure Friday, Burton announced today that it has restructured its sales force.

 

Sasha Dietschi-Cooper. Shop-eat-surf file photo.

Sasha Dietschi-Cooper will assume the role of VP of North American Sales for Burton, RED and anon, reporting directly to John Lacy, EVP of Product & North American Sales, Burton said in a release.

 

Sasha has worked with Burton for many years, most recently as Senior Director of Sales in North America. Prior to that, he was responsible for sales in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Below is Burton’s official press release about its sales reorganization:

 

Burton Snowboards Announces New North American Sales Structure

BURLINGTON, Vt. (January 10, 2012) Burton Snowboards today announced a new structure for its North American in-house sales team. Effective immediately, Sasha Dietschi-Cooper will assume the role of VP of North American Sales for Burton, RED and anon, reporting directly to John Lacy, EVP of Product & North American Sales. Within this new structure, Burton’s Resort Sales programs will also now report directly to John Lacy, and will continue to be managed by Global Resort Director Jeff Boliba.

 

“We are more focused on our wholesale accounts and our resort partners than we have been in a long time, and our new structure will keep things moving in that direction,” said Jake Burton, Founder and CEO of Burton Snowboards. “As a company, one of our biggest priorities is to aggressively boost our support for local shops. We’ve already accomplished a lot through tweaking some of our sales programs and by investing in targeted marketing programs and creating more segmented product lines – all aimed at helping specialty retailers thrive. I couldn’t be more stoked on our new Sales structure, and I have full confidence that our Sales crew will continue to make supporting local shops their number one mission.”

 

Sasha Dietschi-Cooper has been a veteran of the industry and Burton for many years in his roles as Senior Director of Sales in North America and Burton’s managing sales representative for the Pacific Northwest. In his newly expanded role, Sasha will utilize his strong connection to the snowboard market, his in-depth understanding of product and his experience with the industry’s distribution channels to help increase Burton’s support of local shops.

 

“I’m really excited about this new chapter in Burton North American Sales,” said John Lacy, EVP of Product & North American Sales. “Ever since Jake took the CEO reins again, there is much more synergy between Burton’s internal Sales crew and our local shop partners. This new Sales structure makes the connection even stronger, and I look forward to another great year of growing our relationships with shops and resorts.”

 

About Burton

 

In 1977, Jake Burton Carpenter founded Burton Snowboards out of his Vermont barn. Since then, Burton has fueled the growth of snowboarding worldwide through its groundbreaking product lines, its team of top snowboarders and its grassroots efforts to get the sport accepted at resorts. In 1996, Burton began growing its family of brands to include boardsports and apparel brands. Privately held and owned by Jake, Burton’s headquarters are in Burlington, Vermont with offices in California, Austria, Japan and Australia. For more information, visit www.burton.com.