When the Norwegian outdoor brand was successfully integrated into Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC), which it was acquired by in May 2018, Helly Hansen’s CEO, Paul Stoneham, committed at that time to lead the brand for another three years. Stoneham was appointed CEO by former Helly Hansen owner Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in early 2015 to set the company on a new course. With the company transformation now complete and a new growth plan for 2025 in place, Stoneham will formally step down from his role after six years at the brand’s helm once a new CEO has been appointed and a handover period has taken place. At this point, no candidate has been named for the position.
Under Stoneham’s leadership, Helly Hansen was “set on a new course” with the development of a growth strategy that put the outdoor professional at the center of the business and led to the most successful period in the company’s history, the company said. Despite a Covid-19-triggered decline in the outdoor apparel sector, Helly Hansen ended 2020 with an “all-time record sales quarter” and is “positioned for great success moving forward with strong wholesale relationships and a material, growing DTC business,” it added. In 2020, Helly Hansen posted revenue of 541.9 million Canadian Dollars (€360.6m-$404.1m).
