ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands, Dec. 10, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Head N.V. (NYSE:HED) (VSX:HEAD), a leading global manufacturer and marketer of sports equipment, announced today details of organisational changes;
-- An Executive Committee has been established. This Committee includes Johan Eliasch, Ralf Bernhart, Klaus Hotter, Robert Marte, Edgar Pollmann, Georg Kroll and Claudio Ferrantino. -- Klaus Hotter has assumed full responsibility for the Winter Sports Division. Sales, marketing and R&D functions of the skis, ski boots, bindings and snowboards businesses will report to him. -- Edgar Pollmann, currently General Manager of Tyrolia, has been appointed Managing Director of Global Operations and Gerald Skrobanek, currently our Chief Information Officer, has been appointed as Vice President of Operations. -- Dave Haggerty, currently President of U.S. racquet sports, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the USA. He will be supported by Gunter Hagspiel who has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer in the USA. -- Bob Soden, currently the Chief Executive Officer of winter sports in the USA, has decided to leave the company during 2003 to pursue other opportunities. We would like to thank him for the contribution he has made to growing our winter sports business in the U.S.
About Head
Head NV is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of premium sports equipment. We are a technology driven company, our motto being "Superior Performance Through Superior Technology."
We can trace our roots back to 1950 when Howard Head, the inventor of the first metal ski, founded the company. The Tyrolia bindings and Mares diving brands were added in the 1970's and more recently the Penn balls and Dacor diving brands were acquired during the 1990's.
Head NV has been under its present management since 1996 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Vienna Stock Exchange in September 2000.
Our current operations are organized into four divisions: Winter Sports, Racquet Sports, Diving and Licensing.
Within these divisions we have created or acquired some of the most recognizable brands in the sporting goods market including:
Head
Tennis, squash and racquetball racquets; alpine skis and ski boots; snowboarding boards, bindings and boots; accessories and apparel
Penn
Tennis and racquetball balls
Tyrolia
Alpine ski bindings
Mares/Dacor Diving equipment
Our key ski, racquet and diving products all have leading market positions and appeal to a wide range of consumers from novices to some of the world's top athletes including Andre Agassi, Gustavo Kuerten, Hannes Trinkl and Francisco "Pipin" Ferreras.
Our products are sold through over 30,000 accounts including pro shops, specialty sporting goods stores and mass merchants in over 80 countries around the world.
Our strategy has always been to develop groundbreaking products positioned at middle to high price points. We believe this helps us achieve our financial returns as well as gain market share.
Please visit our Website: www.head.com