Current global president of Napapijri to become Calida Group CEO

By

Olivier Guyot

Published
Nov 28, 2020

Having served as CEO of the Calida Group since 2016, Reiner Pichler, announced his departure from the company earlier this year. Now the board of directors has revealed that the group, which owns the Calida and Aubade intimates businesses, as well as French outdoor brands Lafuma and Millet, has found his successor. 

The company's new CEO will be Timo Schmidt-Eisenhart, the current global president of VF Corp-owned casualwear brand Napapijri. He will step into his new role in the first quarter of 2021.

A Nike alum, the executive has worked at VF since 2007, holding a range of roles related to the U.S.-based group's European operations. He began his time at the company as VP of sales for The North Face in Europe, going on to become VP and general manager of the brand in the EMEA region. 

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In 2012, he became general manager for EMEA at Timberland, a role in which he transformed the brand's positioning and developed its distribution network. In November of last year, he took over as leader of Napapijri, the Italian brand known for its Norwegian-flag logo. He also took on the role of VP for VF's EMEA digital platform.

Along with his Swiss origins, it seems that Schmidt-Eisenhart's dual experience in operational brand management and digital development have won over Calida's board of directors. 

"Timo Schmidt-Eisenhart's successful track record of corporate growth, business model transformation and internationalisation mirrors the ambitions and strategic intentions for our brands," explained Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, chairman of the board of directors at the Sursee, Switzerland-based company, in a release. 

The executive's skills and experience at sportswear and technical lifestyle brands will also draw the attention of the teams at mountainwear brands, at a time when Millet Mountain Group has just appointed Romain Millet as its CEO. Only time will tell where the two companies will head under their new leaders. 

In 2019, the Calida Group reported an operating profit of 23 million Swiss francs, on revenues of 408 million.