Columbia announces new leadership to its prAna and Columbia brands

By

Emily Jensen

Published
Sep 8, 2017

Columbia Sportswear Company has appointed Russ Hopcus as the president of the prAna brand. His new position is followed by a series of promotions at the company.

 
Hopcus joined the company in 2013 as senior vice president of North America sales for the Columbia brand. In his new position he will report to Doug Morse, Senior Vice President – Emerging Brands and APAC.
 
“As a 32-year veteran of the active apparel and footwear industry, Russ brings extensive leadership experience in brand and market development to prAna,” Morse said in a statement. “He will be relocating to join our prAna team in Carlsbad, California and be responsible for managing the brand in all channels and continuing to strengthen the brand’s position as a leader in both performance and sustainability.”

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Joe Craig will take on Hopcus’ former role as senior vice president. Craig joined the company in 1995 and in 2013 became vice president of U.S. apparel sales for Columbia. He will be succeeded by Dean Rurak, who started his career at Columbia as a sales representative in Canada in 1996.
 
“Dean and I have worked together in many capacities over the past decade,” Craig said in a statement. “He has always been a valued partner with keen consumer insights and a solid understanding of the North American wholesale markets. His experience will be instrumental as we work to build upon the Columbia brand’s strong position with our valued U.S. wholesale customers.”
 
The new appointments will take effect October 1. In August, prAna also announced the resignation of its CEO, Scott Kerslake, and has yet to name a replacement.