Yakima Products Inc. named Jason McGibbon as its vice president of sales, while Chris Sautter was appointed as the brand’s first product development center director.
As vice president of sales, Jason McGibbon is responsible for driving the execution and implementation of the sales strategy for the company’s three-brand portfolio of Yakima, Whispbar and Prorack in the United States, Canada and Latin America. He also manages the overall relationship with outside sales agencies, regional sales and marketing representatives and the company’s customer service department.
“Jason has led the sales team through many transformational changes over his three years with Yakima. Today, our sales organization is stronger than ever and well-equipped to deliver our aggressive goals,” said Ryan Martin, chief executive officer of Yakima. “Jason’s contributions to Yakima have been key and extend well beyond the sales organization. I am thrilled to have his continued sales leadership as our VP of Sales.”
McGibbon is a seasoned outdoor and sporting goods industry veteran with more than 15 years of experience with global brands. He joined Yakima in 2013 as Senior Director of Sales, and most recently was Global Senior Director of Sales.
Prior to joining Yakima, he held sales leadership positions at Mountain Hardwear, New Balance Performance Outerwear and The North Face. He was also vice president of sales at American Recreation Products, where he managed the global sales effort for multiple outdoor brands, including Sierra Designs, Kelty and Ultimate Direction.
As product development center director, Chris Sautter leads the innovative development and design, production and launch of all new and refined products for Yakima’s three brands, Yakima, Whispbar and Prorack.
“Cutting-edge product development is at heart of our company, and so it’s natural that its director should be on Yakima’s executive team,” said Martin. “Chris has been unofficially serving in this capacity for some time, and has done a tremendous job leading the Product Development team through an exciting period of transformation and the historic product launches slated for Q1 of this year. I am excited to solidify this position and have Chris continue to shape the future of Yakima.”
Sautter has been with Yakima since 2005 and most recently was director of new product design. Chris has been instrumental in building the current PDC team and improving the development process. He has also played a key role in developing many of the products Yakima has released in the past decade, including the new StreamLine System, the award-winning Whispbar accessories, plus best-selling carriers such as the FullSwing, FrontLoader, SweetRoll and HoldUp.
