Changes within the corporate walls of Arctic Cat were announced today for the company’s legacy division. Brad Darling is out as V.P. and general manager of snowmobiles, replaced by Eric Nelson. Darling worked for Arctic Cat since 2000 when he was a district sales manager, according to his LinkedIn profile. He took over the snowmobile division in January 2011. New leadership for the company’s human resources division was announced, too. Here is a press release from Arctic Cat about the changes.
MINNEAPOLIS (March 29, 2016) – Arctic Cat Inc. today announced that Erik Nelson is being promoted to vice president and general manager of the snowmobile division and international sales, effective April 1. The company also announced that Patricia Jones has joined as chief human resources officer, effective immediately. Nelson succeeds Brad Darling and Jones succeeds William Nee, both of whom are pursuing other opportunities.
“We are pleased to welcome Erik and Patty to these important roles as we continue to build an exciting, innovative and results-driven culture to achieve our growth goals,” said Christopher Metz, Arctic Cat’s president and CEO. “I also want to thank Brad Darling and Bill Nee for their many years of leadership at Arctic Cat and significant contributions to helping us reposition the company for growth.”
Nelson joined Arctic Cat in 2013 as director of international sales where he was responsible for leading the company’s sales and market development efforts outside of the U.S. and Canada. Prior to joining Arctic Cat, Nelson served as vice president of sales and marketing for Marquis Yachts. In that position, he led global sales, marketing, service operations and a network of 53 independent dealers in 28 countries. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire.
“Erik has demonstrated exceptional leadership of our international business in a challenging macroeconomic environment. Erik’s innovative thinking, strong brand and marketing skill set and passion for the power sports industry will help fuel snowmobile market share gains,” Metz said.
In her new role as Arctic Cat’s chief human resources officer, Jones brings nearly 30 years of senior executive experience at Minnesota-based companies across multiple disciplines, including human resources, law, corporate governance, operations, process improvement and communications.
“Patty brings a strong combination of legal and human resources expertise,” said Metz. “She has a proven track record of success in leading organizational development and transformation for multibillion-dollar corporations. Her passion for building talented teams that deliver results fits well with our aggressive growth goals.”
Most recently, Jones was senior vice president of administration for Lifetouch Inc., the largest employee-owned photography company operating in the U.S. and Canada, where she led human resources, strategic planning and process improvement.
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