John Lacy, who ascended from a customer service representative to chief executive officer during a nearly 29-year tenure at Burton Snowboards, will exit Burton in June, SESO has confirmed.
Burton is the largest snowboard company in the world and independently owned by the Carpenter family. Donna Carpenter, the wife and business partner of the late founder, Jake Burton Carpenter, will step in as interim CEO.
“After nearly 29 years with Burton, John and Donna have come to a mutual decision that it is time for John to pursue his next chapter beyond his role as CEO,” a company spokesperson said in an email to SESO. “He will remain with Burton through the end of June to support a smooth transition. No replacement has been named at this time.”
John Lacy Started at Burton Answering Customer Service Calls
Lacy assumed the sole CEO position in February 2020, taking the helm just months after the passing of founder Jake Burton Carpenter and immediately navigating the Vermont-based company through the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global supply chain disruptions.
Lacy’s trajectory at Burton is a “climb up from the bottom” success story. He joined the company in 1997, working the phones in rider service. Over the next two decades, he worked in nearly every facet of the business, including product development and global sales. He served as senior vice president of snow products before becoming executive vice president of global product and North American sales, then executive vice president/chief product officer.
Lacy was promoted to president in late 2015. He was elevated to co-CEO alongside Donna Carpenter in 2018.
John Lacy Was Mentored – and Tested – by Jake Burton
When Lacy became CEO in 2020, Donna Carpenter told SESO in an extensive interview why he was the right fit for the job. Carpenter had been mentoring Lacy over an 18-month period as they ran the company as co-CEOs, and he was also mentored by Jake, particularly from a product perspective, she said.
“John came up through product and ultimately became chief product officer. As you know, Jake was obsessed with product, so if a zipper didn’t work the right way, he would call John into his office to ‘talk,’” she said during the 2020 interview, laughing.
“Let’s just say Jake was very detail-oriented in the product area. And what makes John a great leader is that he’s so open to learning. He just soaked up everything he could from Jake and at some point, I realized, ‘Hey, I think this kid wants to run this company someday.’
“And I told John, ‘You know, I can help you become a leader. I can help you on the culture side. I can help you on the community side and what it means to run a senior team.’ And, again, he soaked it up.”
Carpenter said in the 2020 interview that she and John work “incredibly well” together.
“We can finish each other’s sentences,” she said. “We have the same vision. He’s a great motivator. He’s fun to work with.”
Lacy also knows how to balance staying competitive with other important values.
“John embodies what Jake had – Jake was really competitive and really driven to win, but at the same time it had to be fun. And, it had to be fair. It had to be ethical.”
John Lacy addressing a company meeting. File photo courtesy of Burton.
John Lacy Led Digital Transformation and China Expansion
Under his leadership, Lacy was instrumental in modernizing Burton’s strategic operations. He championed a holistic brand experience by implementing office, showroom, and retail hubs in major markets. During his tenure, Burton underwent a comprehensive digital transformation and expanded its international footprint, particularly in the Chinese market.
Beyond financial performance, Lacy emphasized prioritizing the consumer and fostering industry-wide collaboration. He called colleagues at competing companies to discuss issues ranging from climate change to market evolution, operating under the philosophy that “all ships should rise” to ensure the longevity and growth of snowboarding across all demographics.
Here at SESO, some of our favorite interviews of the past several years were with Lacy, who talked frankly about Burton’s strategies, opportunities and challenges. We wish him the best as he moves to the next step of his career.
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