As of 1 January 2015, Marco Lachner (40) will assume the newly created position of Brand Manager. In this role he will report directly to Rudy J. Haslbeck, Director Product & Design. Marco Lachner is joining the company from KangaROOS, where he last was Head of Brand & Design, in which position he was in charge of line and brand building for shoes, apparel, bags and accessories of the sports brands belonging to the British Pentland Group (Ellesse, Speedo). Filling this key position at BIRKENSTOCK is an important milestone in the expansion of the company's product and design team. Additional new hires are to follow.

"We have set ourselves ambitious goals for the development of the collection", says Oliver Reichert, CEO of the BIRKENSTOCK Group. "For example, we will continue to massively expand the shoes and kids divisions. Plus, we will segment the collection more in future to show different aspects of our brand and address new target groups. Marco Lachner can provide important impulses in this undertaking. He possesses great expertise in closed shoes. What's more, he is coming from a young brand, where he set important design highlights."

Markus Bensberg, CEO of the BIRKENSTOCK Group, adds: "Marco Lachner is going to contribute the right mix of creativity and technical know-how. He has solid understanding of strategic brand management and many years of experience in developing prototypes and collaborating with external designers. His interest in modern art, fashion design and street art helps him to recognise trends early on and integrate them in the design of new shoe collections. He can now demonstrate all these fortes at BIRKENSTOCK, too."

Until the end of the year Marco Lachner will still be working at KangaROOS, where he started as Head of Line & Brand Building in August 2010. In January 2014 he took on the position of Head of Brand & Design at the sports label. Previously the passionate snow- and skateboarder was Line Product Manager Design at the Austrian shoe manufacturing company LEGERO. Lachner, who holds a degree in business administration (polytechnic university), used to be Product Manager Footwear for the German mountain sports outfitter VAUDE and a product manager for the jeans manufacturer LEVI STRAUSS (Levi's). He also worked for the skater label Pyro.