Tern has announced two additions to its senior management team with Steve Gluckman joining as head of global product management, and Shirley Chen, as supply chain director.
Following the announcement, Josh Hon, founder of Tern said: “We’re really excited to be able to add two such seasoned bike professionals to the Tern team.
“2023 was a challenging year for the bike industry but we’re very bullish on the future so we spent 2023 continuing to invest in our people and processes. Steve and Shirley adding their expertise to our already pretty good team will make us that much better at innovation and execution.”
Steve Gluckman and Shirley Chen
The announcement highlights that Gluckman has extensive industry experience, including a 28-year stint at REI, where he was the first full-time employee dedicated to REI’s in-house brand, Novara.
He successfully led the Novara bicycle business for 21 years, including overseeing the brand’s transition to its current iteration, Co-op Cycles.
A lifelong cyclist, Gluckman has rolled more than 250,000 miles, meticulously tracking his rides—a testament to his commitment to progress and development.
This commitment resonates in his constructive leadership style, which emphasises tracking progress, learning from experience, and implementing strategies for continued product improvements.
Chen provides Tern with a fresh outlook on supply chain management, with more than three decades of diverse supply chain experience across the semiconductor, electromechanical, and mobility industries.
Chen’s industry background includes leadership roles as director of Asia sourcing at Cake, and manager of Asia sourcing at SRAM.
Matthew Davis, Tern COO, said: “Shirley’s role will be to expand visibility into current operations, improve data handling processes, and prepare both team and systems to support Tern’s future growth.
“And as we expand our operations, she’ll lead the way in introducing new ideas, best practices, and innovative solutions that ensure consistent and reliable product delivery, all while upholding the exceptional product quality our customers have long come to trust.”
More women leaders
While leadership in the cycling industry tends to be dominated by male presence, the announcement highlights that Tern believes in the strength of diversity, and sees having more women in the workplace as critical to this.
Chen’s appointment is said to represent another stride forward for Tern, adding a strong female voice to the organisation’s leadership team.
Hon added: “In some circles, there’s been some backlash against DEI initiatives, but we consider this a privileged and blindered view of reality.
“It’s been our experience that when you give opportunities to people who have traditionally been overlooked because of biases, the whole team will advance.
“We grow stronger, more innovative, and make better collective decisions when we have more diverse voices in the room discussing an issue.”
