Icebreaker: Peter Ottervanger, new general manager Europe

By

Bruno Joly

Published
Aug 19, 2014

Icebreaker recently announced the appointment of Peter Ottervanger as general manager for Europe. He will take up his new position on October 1. He succeeds Dion Taylor, who unexpectedly resigned because of "family and health reasons and health."

Ottervanger was previously vice president of Sole Technology Europe (whose brands include Etnies, Emerica, Altamont and ThirtyTwo). Initially cutting his teeth at Philip Morris in the Netherlands, he joined the fashion industry when he was hired by Mexx in 1993. Two years later, he took up European retail leadership at Dockers. Before joining Sole Technology in 2011, he spent four years as head of retail for O'Neill Europe.

For New Zealand brand, specialized in high performance merino wool, Europe makes up 45% of its business. From the European headquarters in Starnberg, near Munich, Ottervanger will manage not only retail and wholesale but also e-commerce.