Len Langenberg, former joint chief executive of the Unlimited Sports Group (USG), the leading sports retailer and wholesaler in the Netherlands, has relinquished his operational functions at the company. He already took a step back last year, when he left his business partner, Jos Gillebaard, at the helm as sole chief executive and became USG’s strategic business development officer. After a brief span as buying director at Foot Locker Europe, he returned to his family business, Teamsport, which was then licensee of Umbro. Teaming up with Gillebaard, he turned this into a large-scale licensing and wholesale business, currently working with a flurry of international brands, from Le Coq Sportif to Helly Hansen, Ellesse and many more – not only in the Netherlands and Belgium, but with offices in Germany and Austria as well. Langenberg said he would start by taking a sabbatical. Both Gillebaard and Langenberg remain leading shareholders in the group, which is further backed by Bencis Capital. (Read more in the last issue of SGI Europe.)
