BURTON TAPS NEW MARKETING AND CREATIVE EXECUTIVES
Burton has welcomed Adrian Josef Margelist as its new executive creative director and Kelly Murnaghan as the brand’s new senior vice president of global marketing. Both Margelist and Murnaghan report to Burton CEO John Lacy and have officially started in their respective roles.
Margelist will be based in his hometown of Zurich, Switzerland, and play a dual role. Leading Burton’s overall creative direction will be half of his focus, and the other half will be to provide creative direction to Burton’s joint venture in China. Margelist has over 20 years of experience in the creative field in international fashion, lifestyle, and consumer goods. Over the past two decades, he made his way from an intern, junior to senior designer, head of design, art director, creative director to chief creative officer, which is a title he’s held for 10 years. He was most recently the chief creative officer at Mammut where he led both the marketing and product divisions while also overseeing the re-design of Mammut stores – from the visual experience to the product assortment. In addition to Mammut, he has led the creative and design efforts for international brands that include Esprit, MCM, and Liebeskind to name a few.
“I’ve been a fan of Burton since 1987 when I started snowboarding in the Swiss Alps,” said Margelist. “Back then, if someone told me that I would one day have the honor to work with the teams at Burton, I would have never believed it. Today, I feel humbled, honored, and stoked to have this opportunity. My sincere hope is that my decades of experience within the outdoor, lifestyle, and fashion industries combined with the ample time I’ve spent working and living in Asia will help guide and support the teams during this next era of Burton.”
On the marketing front, Murnaghan joined Burton in late September and oversees all divisions of the brand’s global marketing. In this role, she leads marketing strategy and positioning globally, driving Burton’s transformation towards becoming a consumer-centric, digital-first retailer of the future. In addition, she’s charged with growing participation in the sport, building on Burton’s commitment to foster a more diverse and inclusive community, and amplifying the brand and product assortment.
Murnaghan is a seasoned marketing professional with both advertising agency experience and over a decade of executive-level roles leading in-house marketing teams. The first five years of her career were spent at advertising agencies, with Ogilvy & Mather in New York City, Fallon in Minneapolis, and Mullen in Boston. From there, she joined Converse Inc. in Boston for seven years where she held various director-level positions, from running point on marketing for the Chuck Taylor brand in North America to leading the marketing department in Canada. Following Converse, Murnaghan went on to Vans in California where she was the vice president of marketing for North America and led a team of 50 to Vans’ most successful year to date. In 2019, Murnaghan was tapped to become the chief marketing officer at Lagunitas where she oversaw marketing, strategy, product innovation, and retail teams.
“I’m beyond thrilled to join the Burton family,” said Murnaghan. “It feels like 20 years of preparation has culminated in this moment, and I couldn’t be prouder or more honored to help drive the next chapter for this remarkable brand.”
John Lacy, CEO of Burton is also excited to have fresh energy and perspectives on the senior team and added, “With Kelly and Adrian now on board, we can continue to evolve towards a unified vision for how our brand shows up creatively in our product, stores, and with our customers. We’re confident they will help lead Burton to a new era of creativity and best-in-class marketing that our brand has always been respected for.”