Igloo Products Corp. Names Jeffrey Catwright President and COO
OutdoorHub 12.16.11
Igloo Product Corp., the nation’s largest designer, manufacturer and marketer of coolers, today announced that Jeffrey P. Cartwright will be its new President & COO. He will report to Igloo Chairman and CEO, Gary Kiedaisch, who made the announcement. In his new position, Cartwright will have day-to-day responsibility for operations at Igloo and, with resident management, will execute the company’s short and long term strategic plan. He will assume his new position on January 3, 2012.
Kiedaisch also announced that David Thornhill, currently Igloo’s executive vice president has been promoted to executive vice president and chief product officer. “For three years, David has done an extraordinary job driving Igloo’s new product development from beginning to end.” During Thornhill’s tenure, Igloo has designed and launched upwards of 200 new products during the past three years, accounting for approximately 60 % of Igloo’s current business.
According to Kiedaisch, Cartwright is joining Igloo to manage Igloo’s rapid growth in its core business, hard and soft-sided coolers, and adjacent new, recently added product categories. “Since its acquisition by J.W. Whitney in October 2008,” said Kiedaisch, “in addition to significant sales increases, the company has strengthened its leadership as the #1 cooler brand with revitalized product lines, entered new product categories and expanded its distribution networks. This demonstrates the company’s on-going commitment to new product development and high service levels,” he said.
“Jeffrey Cartwright comes to Igloo with relevant business experience in all facets of manufacturing and engineering both in the US and in Asia, where he supervised the growth of companies in similar stages of expansion. He’s an expert in manufacturing and logistics, a good match with our company’s current needs. As we extend our reach into new product categories and new channels of trade, his knowledge and experience will be key contributors to continuing the momentum we’ve generated,” Kiedaisch said.
