Sam Cook to Join Prince as GM
August 10, 2010
Bordentown, NJ — Sam Cook will be joining Prince as General Manager of its business in the United States and Canada. The appointment will become effective September 1, 2010 and signals Prince’s commitment to growing its business in the U.S. and Canada.
Cook joins Prince from Tecnica USA, where he held the role of President of the Tecnica/Blizzard Divisions. Cook is, however, best known for previously transforming the Völkl tennis brand. Under his leadership, Völkl grew from a start up to number four brand in the USA. Cook’s tennis history also includes captaining the Dartmouth College tennis team to its first Ivy League Championship (using a Prince Graphite racquet!).
Commenting on the appointment, Gordon Boggis, President and Chief Operating Officer of Prince said:
“Sam brings to Prince a great combination of a track-record of success in the tennis industry, broad general management experience and a dynamic style that will be a great advantage as we continue to reinvigorate Prince’s business in the U.S. and Canada.”
Boggis continued:
“Our company has a number of very strong assets. We engineer highly innovative products, with visible technology, to help players of all levels hit more good shots more often. We have one of the greatest brands in racquet sports and a team of highly talented, committed professionals. Our focus now is to synchronize effectively all of these assets to propel Prince into a new phase of growth. Sam’s appointment is an integral part of that focus.”
Commenting on joining Prince, Cook said:
“I am thrilled to return to my roots in the tennis industry, and especially to join the Prince team. Having played with Prince throughout the juniors and in college, I am honored to have this opportunity to help the brand achieve new levels of success. It is clear we have to communicate more effectively the consumer benefits of our technologies and to work in closer partnership with our key trade partners. These are challenges I’m looking forward to taking on as we enter a new stage of growth for Prince.
About Prince Sports, Inc.
Prince Sports, Inc, based in New Jersey, is a company of racquet sports enthusiasts whose goal is to create cutting edge, functional and technically advanced products that deliver performance benefits for avid players. The Company’s portfolio of brands includes Prince (tennis, squash and badminton), Ektelon (racquetball) and Viking (platform/paddle tennis). The Company has a 40-year history of innovation which includes the invention of the first “oversize” and “longbody” racquets, the first “Natural Foot Shape” tennis shoe, the first “synthetic gut” string and the first electronic ball machine. Today, Prince markets leading technologies in racquets (EXO3), string (Recoil), footwear (Lightspeed) and apparel (Aerotech). It has operations on three continents with distribution in over 100 countries. For more information on players, products or programs please visit princesports.com.