Thule Racks Hires New VP of Sales and Western Region Sales Manager

The world leading manufacturer of sport racks and car carrying solutions, Thule Racks, recently announced the appointment of Tripp Wyckoff as its VP of sales and service and Larry Hewett as the new U.S. western region sales manager. Mr. Wyckoff will have the responsibility of overseeing all sales and customer service activities for Thule Inc. All sales and customer marketing managers, including Mr. Hewett, will be reporting to him.

"Tripp and Larry will be great additions to our team," President of Thule, Inc. Fred Clark stated. "Tripp is a long time Thule user and his understanding of our dealers and our business will be integral to our support and continued growth of the rack category in the United States." Most recently Wyckoff was the Managing Director/General Manager of Pedro's USA, a division of Swix Sports, where he led the Sales, Marketing, Public Relations, Product Development, and Purchasing. Prior to joining Pedro's, Wyckoff worked for 9 years with Kryptonite, where he departed as the Director of Global Action Sports Channels, which included Snow, Powersport, Bike and OEM channels.

"While at Kryptonite, I had the pleasure of working with Fred Clark and his team, and have always felt that Thule would be a great place for me one day," stated Wyckoff. "Thule is an incredible brand, and I'm excited about Thule's prospects for the coming years." Wyckoff will be based out of Thule Inc.'s corporate headquarters in Seymour, Connecticut, where he and his family will be relocating.

Proclaimed a "sales wizard" by SNEWS, Hewett spent over eighteen years with Yakima Racks and WaterMark where he most recently held the position of western director of sales. Hewett is the second former WaterMark employee to join Thule Racks this year, as Chris Dannewitz joined Thule as the vice president of business development in January of 2005. "There are few who know the rack category and western territory better than Larry," explained Clark. "We are excited to have him on our side after so many years competing with him. For so long my mission in life has been to throw flies into the Thule Racks ointment," Hewett joked. "Now that I am on the A-Team, I can direct that energy with laser focus on maximizing command drivers for Thule - stay tuned." Hewett will be working from his home in the Arcata, California region.

Thule Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary within the Thule Group. It is the leading U.S. manufacturer of car rack products, with production sites in Chicago, IL and Seymour, CT. The Thule Rack product line includes multi-purpose roof racks, roof top cargo boxes, rear hitch and trunk mount bike racks, and accessories for outdoor gear including ski, snowboard, bike, kayak, surfboard and canoe equipment.