Pentland Brands changes leadership teams

Pentland Bands has shuffled its senior leadership team with the announcement of three new internal appointments for the UK-based fashion/lifestyle business.

The trio will spearhead product and marketing for the Speedo, Ellesse, Mitre, Kickers and Canterbury brands. They are Simon Breckon, who becomes senior vice-president for Speedo; Jack Richardson, who takes on the senior vice-presidency for Ellesse, Kickers and Mitre; and Luke Doddrell who fills the position of senior vice-president for Canterbury.

Breckon, who joined Pentland from drinks producer Diageo in 2018, has led several international brand campaigns including the Ellesse x Michael Kors collaboration, the Ellesse x TikTok campaign and the Ellesse x Tomorrowland and Kickers x Roblox partnerships.

He “has played a pivotal role in globalising Ellesse product development and launching the Kickers vegan footwear range,” noted Pentland. 

And he’s “built successful commercial partnerships with major international markets, including the expansion of the Ellesse brand into the US and China and growth for the Mitre brand in the UK and the US”.

With Breckon moving to Speedo, Richardson will take over to lead product and marketing for the Ellesse and Mitre brands globally, as well as Kickers in the UK. He’s been with Pentland Brands for 10 years and his “diverse experience has proven invaluable, particularly his multi-brand commercial expertise,” the company said.

Over the last two years as a vice-president for Canterbury and Teamwear, Richardson has turned around the performance of the brand in EMEA, “driving both profit improvement and increased sales. His leadership of the product and marketing teams led to notable initiatives such as the navy shorts swap with the Ireland women’s rugby team and the recent launch of Canterbury’s lightest and most advanced rugby boot”.

Richardson’s move will see his Canterbury responsibilities taken up by Doddrell. He joined the group 18 months ago as Canterbury general manager and Pentland Brands commercial director, Asia Pacific. 

“During this time, he’s led the delivery of strong profits for the brand in Australia and New Zealand and set the foundations for sustainable global brand growth in 2024 and beyond”.  

Doddrell will lead the global business from New Zealand.

All three roles start this month and will report to Penny Herriman, chief marketing officer for Pentland Brands.