Dakine CEO Leslie Lane is moving to a new job at Dr. Martens, a division of Airwair International Ltd.
Leslie will serve as President of the U.S. and Americas, and will be responsible for managing Dr. Martens business in that region. He will report to CEO Steve Murray, previously a top executive at Vans and VF Corp.
SES confirmed Leslie’s appointment this afternoon. Airwair is expected to make the announcement Thursday.
Leslie joined Dakine in July 2013, after Altamont Capital Partners purchased the brand. Before that, Leslie was an operating partner at Altamont for two years, and also worked at Nike for eight years and at Bain & Co.
He is English, and a graduate of Oxford University. He earned an MBA from Harvard.
Leslie starts Jan. 28 and will be based in Portland.
“It was important to us that we found someone who combined genuine passion for our unique brand with a deep understanding of the geography to be able to maximize the opportunity Dr. Martens has in the U.S. & Americas region,” CEO Steve Murray said. “It’s no accident that the person we chose has driven so many high level, consumer focused, strategic brand initiatives in his career and we look forward to Leslie joining the global team.”
