Tracksmith moves into a new era of leadership as founder Matt Taylor will step aside and the company has named former Converse chief Jared Carver as its new CEO.
The move was revealed on Tuesday with Carver set to push the Boston-based independent running brand toward its next phase.
Taylor will stay with the company in the newly created chief creative officer role, which becomes effective immediately and will also help to ensure the transition for Carver is seamless.
“Over the last few years, I’ve strategically turned over parts of the day-to-day management and broader business direction to trusted members of my senior leadership team who have been pivotal to our most recent phase of growth,” Taylor said. “The last piece was bringing in a CEO who could help us achieve the brand’s full potential and allow me to focus on the areas where I thrive. Jared brings great breadth and depth in all business disciplines that we’re fortunate to add to our leadership team as we continue to drive Tracksmith’s growth forward and scale to market demand.”
The 12-year-old brand has carved its own lane in crowed — and competitive — running apparel marketplace that is dominated by sportswear giants. But Tracksmith thrived and stayed distinctive with retro collegiate-themed gear that felt subdued but carefully designed with premium materials.
The brand has pushed a niche and heritage image but has managed to capture a slice of the growing running landscape at the retail level and has since expanded beyond the New England region.
Tracksmith has also been a fixture at major marathons along with smaller running events, operates retail stores in Boston and New York that feel more like clubhouse than points of sale and has supported unsponsored elite-level athletes. The moves have paid off and allowed the brand to ride its own blend of style and performance running — and built a core fanbase of consumers.
Carver served as president and CEO of Converse for three years before stepping down last July and brings a bulk experience to Tracksmith as it continues leaning deeper into offering a full state of products that now includes footwear. The company now offers the Eliot Runner training shoe, Eliot Racer performance models and will unveil its Eliot Ryder in the coming months as a max cushion option at a time when light — and stacked — shoes remain popular.
“I’m honored to join a brand so deeply rooted in running heritage, with such an exciting future. I have a passion for mission-driven brands and Tracksmith sits squarely in that space,” Carver said. “As a Bostonian and a runner who draws inspiration from New England’s rich beauty, joining the Tracksmith family presents an opportunity to work alongside a very talented team and build on the massive momentum Matt has built over the past decade. Every day we get to work on inspiring people to go outside and run; there’s nothing better than that.”
Meanwhile, Taylor will still be active in the company in his new creative role that will give him more outreach to steer the image of the brand, lead Tracksmith’s ambitions beyond the United States and carve out with the future of the venture he founded will ultimately look like.
Up next immediately for Taylor is ensuring the rollout for the Eliot Ryder is smooth as the company further inches into the footwear space and releases a show that will arrive in a category that is pivotal for this generation of running.
