Former Allbirds CEO Joe Vernachio Joins Sorel as President

Just hours aft Allbirds announced its authoritative sanction alteration and the exit of erstwhile main enforcement serviceman Joe Vernachio from the present AI-focused company, the enforcement has landed successful a caller role.

Late connected Wednesday, Columbia Sportswear Company-owned outdoor marque Sorel said that Vernachio has been hired arsenic its caller president, effectual June 22. He succeeds Cory Long, who has served arsenic president of Sorel since Nov. 2023.

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Vernachio's caller relation is simply a homecoming of sorts for the executive, who antecedently served arsenic president of Columbia-owned outdoor apparel marque Mountain Hardwear for 4 years, anterior to joining Allbirds successful 2021 arsenic the company's main operating officer. He was aboriginal elevated to CEO of Allbirds successful March 2024.

Prior to his clip astatine Mountain Hardwear, helium besides spent 7 years astatine VF Corp.'s The North Face marque arsenic vice president of planetary merchandise and served successful different roles astatine Patagonia, Nike, Roots, Calvin Klein and Spyder.

Tim Boyle, main enforcement serviceman and seat of the committee astatine Columbia Sportswear Company, said successful a connection that helium was "excited" to invited Vernachio backmost to the "family."

"Joe is simply a terrific person who tin physique connected the large work, endowment and momentum successful spot astatine Sorel," Boyle noted.

Craig Zanon, enforcement vice president of Europe direct, Asia nonstop and emerging brands astatine Sorel, added that Vernachio is simply a "consumer‑focused, collaborative person with a heavy passionateness for merchandise and marque storytelling."

"His energy, expertise, and proven enactment volition assistance substance scalable maturation and meaningful marque enlargement for Sorel," Zanon said.

Vernachio's assignment comes aft Columbia reported that nett income astatine Sorel declined 12 percent to $37.16 cardinal successful the archetypal 4th of 2026, down from $42.21 cardinal successful the aforesaid clip past year.

On the company's archetypal 4th league telephone with analysts successful April, Boyle noted that Sorel's income diminution was mostly owed to "reduced proviso of wintertime play products successful the U.S. and little closeout sales." This led to declines crossed each channels and much than offsetting beardown momentum successful the planetary markets, the CEO said.

"Encouragingly, we person seen income trends amended with the motorboat of outpouring '26 styles, including steadfast maturation successful sneakers, a precedence class that demonstrates Sorel is becoming viewed arsenic much than conscionable a wintertime brand," Boyle added connected the April net call.