Press release:
January 20, 2014 – When Karen Reuther invested and became a board member of the Sri Lankan Surf Company Dunstan Surfwear, she knew it was in need of Brand Development and Marketing Leadership, and she knew exactly who to call, Russ Ortiz. Russ received the call from Karen late in 2013, a welcome call and not completely unexpected, as the two former colleagues have remained good friends since their days at Nike, where together they were a formidable force, helping to lead several of Nike’s most important and successful brand initiatives.
Karen Reuther, a successful, passionate and industry award winning Creative Executive played an instrumental role in the success and growth at Nike during her twelve year run at the Beverton based global sports juggernaut as a Global Creative Director for Footwear, Apparel and Equipment and Nike Women’s. She currently owns her own Boston based consultancy firm, Cast Collective, where she has recently led engagements with industry leaders such as Puma, TJX Companies and the global color service Pantone.
After thriving for more than a dozen years in Sales, Strategic Planning and Brand Marketing leadership positions at Nike, Russ Ortiz served as the Vice President of Global Brand Communications for action and performance sport leader Oakley. At Oakley, Ortiz directed several significant marketing initiatives including the launch of innovative brand platforms such as Oakley’s ONE ICON magazine. He currently is the Co-founder and CEO for the successful and avant-garde home design company Shine by S.H.O. Ortiz is also an avid waterman, growing up on the beaches of Southern California he continues to surf, paddle or sail on a weekly basis.
“When Karen called and asked if I was interested in being part of Dunstan’s leadership team I was thrilled with the opportunity to collaborate with one of my favorite and one of the most creative people I know. But, I also knew absolutely nothing about Dunstan Surfwear!” Ortiz continued, “I could sense Karen’s excitement and when I did my due diligence I was intrigued with the opportunity to bring my professional expertise together with a personal passion. Dunstan was a diamond that needed some polishing, but the technology, legacy and philosophy of the brand was an opportunity I could not pass up.”
Reuther commented on the company’s pure-play business model, “Dunstan’s ability to not only customize the look of a board short, but to also custom tailor an individual pair to each customers measurements is the most extreme example of the innovative discipline of mass customization.” Ortiz added, “and to build a completely custom board short in two weeks, ship it priority global air express for free anywhere in the world, and unconditionally guarantee the proper fit, is Dunstan’s competitive advantage in the market.”
The duo completely convinced in the success of business model turned their attention to laying the framework of how the consumer will interact with the brand. “We started with understanding Dunstan’s legacy and organized, channeled and created a new plan and platform for the brand which included the brand promise, values and ethos,” explained Ortiz. Reuther added, “we also refined and added to the brand identity package, but the most important task was to revamp the customer experience at dunstansurfwear.com.”
The recently re-launched website has been streamlined, modernized and made more intuitive. Scott Hupe, Dunstan’s Managing Director commented “We are so excited about our future. The new Brand Plan has really set a North Star for our company. And we are incredibly proud of our new website and our customers are already falling in love with the experience. We are grateful to both Karen and Russ for their creativity, vision and positive energy to date and are equally excited about their contributions in the future.”
About Dunstan Surfwear
Dunstan Surfwear was founded by one of the country’s surfing pioneers, Dunstan Wickramasekara, in the small beach town of Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka. Dunstan Surfwear has combined surf style with an eco-friendly opportunity to repurpose Pan-Asian excess fabric of the many clothing manufacturers in the region. The result is a completely unique pair of boardshorts reflecting the individual spirit of every customer. Surfing is a method of expression, and that individuality should extend to boardshorts too. For more information on Dunstan Surfwear, visit www.dunstansurfwear.com
