Geoff Eisenberg Succeeds Peter Harris as President and Chief Executive Officer of West Marine
WATSONVILLE, Calif --Dec. 10, 2007--West Marine, Inc. (Nasdaq:WMAR), the nation's largest boating supplies and accessories retailer, today announced that the Company's Board of Directors has named Geoff Eisenberg, 55, to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Peter Harris, 63, who resigned from the Company effective today, December 10, 2007. Mr. Harris has agreed to assist during the transition through the end of the year.
"On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to welcome Geoff aboard in his new role as CEO," said Board Chairman and Company Founder Randy Repass. "Geoff has been closely involved with West Marine for almost 32 years. He knows the Company, played a key role in developing our mission and values, and shares our passion for the business and customers of West Marine. Geoff is a highly disciplined operational strategist and a gifted leader. He has had a hand in shaping our service-driven culture and in formulating our current growth strategy, as both an executive of the Company and a member of our Board. We are highly confident in his ability to lead the Company and drive the next phase of our growth."
Mr. Repass added, "Speaking for the Board, I also wish to thank Peter Harris for his leadership these past three years. It has been a tough period for our entire industry. The difficult management decisions Peter had to make along the way have produced encouraging progress on a number of important fronts and set the stage for further operational improvements in the period ahead. We wish Peter well in his future endeavors."
"It is an honor to lead West Marine," Mr. Eisenberg said. "I have a long and cherished history with this great company. West Marine remains the most respected brand name in the boating supplies industry. We intend to leverage the power of our brand and further strengthen our connection with boaters in ways that can fuel our growth and profitability."
In addition to his 30 years on the Board of West Marine, Mr. Eisenberg served the Company in various senior executive positions from 1976 until 1994. He has been active with the Company in one senior capacity or another right through his current appointment as President and CEO. Most recently, he ran a highly successful management and strategic consulting business specializing in CEO training and professional management development. Mr. Eisenberg is also a past CEO of Salz Leathers Inc., a manufacturer of high quality leather based in Santa Cruz, CA, and is a past CEO of Greenhorn Creek Associates, a Real Estate and Golf Development company based in Angels Camp, CA
Mr. Eisenberg serves on the Boards of Directors of LiveOps Inc, a leading distributed call center technology and services provider, and Logispring LTD., an international venture capital firm specializing in supply chain focused companies. He has participated, both as skipper and crew, in many offshore sailing races.
ABOUT WEST MARINE
West Marine, the country's largest specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories, has 372 stores located in 38 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. Our catalog and Internet channels offer customers approximately 50,000 products and the convenience of exchanging catalog and Internet purchases at our store locations. Our Port Supply division is one of the country's largest wholesale distributors of marine equipment serving boat manufacturers, marine services, commercial vessel operators and government agencies. For more information on West Marine's products and store locations, or to start shopping, visit www.westmarine.com or call 1-800-BOATING (1-800-262-8464)
