BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Whyte Bikes has appointed Ed Culley as chief executive and Christina Sartori as chief marketing officer.
Following its strategic partnership with Cairngorm Capital last year, Whyte has been investing in the talent and infrastructure necessary to pursue its strategic ambitions. These appointments are viewed as pivotal to the evolution and growth of the company.
Culley joins from Dyson, where he was global president of the company’s professional (business) products division, which he developed into a $100m+ business operating across 26 countries. Well versed in capitalising on the opportunities available to ambitious, innovative companies, Culley brings extensive experience of successful product innovation and international expansion, having led Dyson’s operations in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
Supported by Whyte’s management team, Culley is tasked with providing the strategic leadership to leverage Whyte’s strong market position, to achieve further growth.
With a passion and expertise in building lifestyle brands, Sartori joins from global sportswear brand Sweaty Betty, where she spearheaded the company’s marketing and brand strategy, building the company’s presence across the 150 countries that it serves. She was instrumental in growing Sweaty Betty from a traditional brick and mortar British brand into a digital lifestyle brand. She is credited with building the engaged social community and influencer network that the company is well known for.
Sartori will be responsible for growing Whyte Bikes to be a market leader, evolving the brand identity and building an engaged global community of Whyte Bike advocates.
“On behalf of the entire team, I am pleased to welcome Ed and Christina to Whyte,” said David Hill, Whyte’s chairman. “Both are outstanding individuals with a proven track record of transforming consumer facing brands, while continuing to delight their users.
“Ed’s background in product, design and engineering innovation marries well with Whyte’s heritage and future focus. We also have much to learn from Christina’s skill in brand and community development. Their expertise will be instrumental in scaling our business, to ensure that Whyte fulfils its outstanding potential.”
Culley added: “I am delighted to be joining Whyte – it is at a really exciting point in its development and is ready to capitalise on the numerous opportunities available to it. Although we have ambitious goals to fulfil, Whyte is an exceptional brand with outstanding products, an excellent management team and lots of potential for growth. I look forward to leading the next phase of its development.”
Read more: Smith appoints Taryn Ryan as global head of marketing
Sartori said: “As an avid mountain biker, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to join Whyte. The problem solving mindset and technical innovation, set Whyte apart from other bike brands. I am thrilled to take on the exciting challenge to grow Whyte into a local and global market leader, delivering compelling storytelling, exceptional partner relationships, and an unparalleled customer experience.”
