John Lacy Named Burton CEO, Donna Carpenter Moves to Chair of Board
Burton Promotes John Lacy to CEO with Donna Carpenter Assuming Chair of the Board
Burlington, VT (February 20, 2020) Today, Burton officially announced that John Lacy will become the company’s CEO, a role he has shared for the past 18 months with Burton owner Donna Carpenter. Donna will become Chair of the Burton Board of Directors, a position formerly held by her late husband and Burton founder, Jake Burton Carpenter.
“John has earned the trust of Jake, myself, our sons and our board of directors to lead Burton as the CEO,” said Donna Carpenter, owner and chairman of Burton. “This promotion is well-earned and has been a milestone Jake and I have been planning for quite some time. Several years ago, we told John that if he wanted to be the CEO, he needed to surround himself with a strong group of leaders, strengthen the brand and culture, focus on the strategic plan and deliver solid financial performance. John was up to the challenge and our business has gotten consistently stronger since John became president and then Co-CEO.”
John started his career at Burton in 1997 working the phones in rider service. Since then, he has held positions in almost every facet of the company, from customer service, product development and sales to executive roles overseeing the product departments. According to Donna, John always wanted to run the company and proved it by excelling at every job he took on. In 2016, when John was promoted from Chief Product Officer to the role of President, he navigated Burton through a volatile retail landscape by increasing the company’s focus on direct-to-consumer opportunities. In late 2018, John became the Co-CEO, sharing the role with Donna. Together, John and Donna have proven to be a strong leadership team, overseeing two consecutive years of exceeding the company’s financial goals by increasing sales, reducing inventory and enhancing direct to consumer initiatives.
With John as CEO, Donna will continue to be very involved with Burton as the company’s owner and chair of the board. Her main focus will be protecting Jake’s legacy by protecting and advocating for the sport of snowboarding. With her three sons, Donna will also continue to play a role in the projects that were most important to Jake, including Mine77, the product collection Jake launched in December of 2018. Donna will also continue to speak up on behalf of the sport and the industry, support international markets and advocate for more diversity on the mountain and in the boardrooms.
“To have earned the trust of Jake, Donna and the board to become Burton’s CEO is one of the biggest honors of my life,” said John Lacy. “Empowering the company to create the next era for Burton will continue to be my main focus. And working closely with Donna and her sons to protect the heritage of this incredible brand and sport we all love will be a privilege. The future is bright for Burton, and you can feel the commitment and energy from everyone who works here to build on what Jake started.”
About Burton
In 1977, Jake Burton Carpenter founded Burton Snowboards out of his Vermont barn and dedicated the rest of his life to snowboarding. Since its founding, Burton has played a pivotal role in growing snowboarding from a backyard hobby to a world-class sport by creating groundbreaking products, supporting a team of top snowboarders and pushing resorts to allow snowboarding. Today, Burton designs and manufactures industry-leading products for snowboarding and the outdoors. As a sustainability leader within the outdoor and winter sports industries, Burton is the world’s first snowboard company to become a certified B Corporation®. Privately held and owned by Donna Carpenter, Burton’s headquarters are in Burlington, Vermont with offices in Austria, Japan, Australia, Canada and China. For more information on Burton, head to www.burton.com and follow our line at facebook.com/burtonsnowboards, twitter.com/burtonsnowboard and @burtonsnowboards on Instagram.