West Marine Hires Aaron Carpenter as Chief Marketing Officer

Watsonville, Calif, May 21, 2019 - West Marine announced today the hiring of Aaron Carpenter as Chief Marketing Officer. Carpenter will join West Marine, the world’s largest premier boating supply retailer, this month with more than 20 years in the retail industry.

Previously, Carpenter served as vice president of global marketing for seven years with The North Face as a key leader on the executive team that more than doubled the brand's revenue from $1 billion to $2.3 billion in six years. He led the launch of thenorthface.com and grew it to over $200M in online sales. Carpenter also led the design and implementation of the brand’s first CRM/Loyalty system, driving $80M in incremental annual omni-channel sales.

“We are excited to welcome Aaron to the West Marine team,” said Ken Seipel, CEO of West Marine. “Aaron understands the boating enthusiast lifestyle and will help us develop and execute marketing strategies to ensure the West Marine brand is strong and that our mission to outfit, educate, and inspire boaters comes to life for our customers.”

Carpenter most recently co-founded TideSmart West, a San Francisco-based digital and experiential marketing agency that supports lifestyle brands like Starbucks, The North Face and Clif Bar & Company, and HubNami, a San Francisco-based startup focused on social media management in the U.S. and Japan. From 1998-2008 he served as vice president of marketing, ecommerce and licensing with Levi Strauss & Co. Carpenter holds a B.A. in Russian and international relations, and an MBA in international marketing from the University of California, Davis.

About West Marine

For more than 50 years, West Marine has been the premier retailer of boating, fishing, sailing and paddling gear. With more than 240 stores located in 38 states and Puerto Rico and an eCommerce website reaching domestic, international and professional customers, West Marine is recognized as a leading resource for cruisers, sailors, anglers and paddlesports enthusiasts. West Marine employees share the same love for the water as our customers and provide helpful advice on the gear and gadgets they need to be safe and have fun. To learn more about West Marine, please visit the West Marine website at westmarine.com

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Renee Harvey | rharvey@rlfcommunications.com | 336.553.1732