Elevate Outdoor Collective Announces CEO Switch – John Colonna to Depart, Josee Larocque Named CEO

Published: October 2, 2024

Elevate Outdoor Collective, the parent company of K2 Skis, K2 Snowboarding, and other brands, announced yesterday that COO Josee Larocque has been named Chief Executive Officer. Former CEO John Colonna is leaving the company to pursue other interests, according to a news release.

From what we understand from industry sources, the change in CEO was a surprise. Elevate is one of the largest ski and snowboard companies in the world with several well-known brands under its umbrella including K2 Skis, K2 Snowboarding, Marker, Dalbello, Völkl, RIDE Snowboards, LINE Skis, Backcountry Access, Atlas Snow Shoe Co., Tubbs Snowshoes, Madshus and K2 Skates.

We reached out to Colonna, who has deep relationships in the snow, footwear and action sports industries, for comment and will update this story if we hear back from him.

Elevate is owned by private equity firm Kohlberg & Company, which first invested in the company in 2017.

“We are pleased to be promoting Josee to lead the company in this next phase of growth,” said Roger Prevot, chairman of Elevate Outdoor Collective and an operating partner at Kohlberg, in a statement. “Josee brings to the role deep experience and accomplishment in the winter outdoor sports industry where she has invested her full career, including more than 25 years with Burton and then moving to Elevate in the COO role in February 2023.”

Formerly known as K2-MDV Holdings, the company became Elevate Outdoor Collective in February 2022 under  Colonna’s stewardship, which Prevot thanked Colonna for in a statement.

“We thank John Colonna for his many contributions, first as President of K2 and then as CEO of the full company,” Prevot said. “Most notably on the product side of the business, he reinvigorated K2 Skis with the Mindbender series and also K2 Boots through many groundbreaking innovations.”

Larocque, who was well-regarded at Burton during her long tenure there, said she was looking forward to bringing the Elevate portfolio and its employees under “one global culture” in a statement.

“Our strength lies in our people and our ability to collaborate across design, engineering, manufacturing, operations, and our commercial teams who bring our products and our brands to life for our customers, giving them an overall best-in-class experience,” she said.

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Strategy & Planning Series
Strategy & Planning Series
Strategy & Planning Series