OB Q&A: Teva's Carlo Lingiardi

Carlo Lingiardi has a passion for footwear, the outdoor industry, and turnaround opportunities. Now, he thinks he has found the perfect job as the new president of Teva.

"It's a great brand that definitely needs rejuvenation and energy and I think it can become a much, much bigger player than it is," says Lingiardi, who was previously Vice President and General Manager of the footwear division at Tecnica USA.

OB talked to Linguiardi about the extensive turnaround efforts at Teva.

OB: Let's start with the obvious question. Why did you take the job?

LINGIARDI: It's got to do with my personality and character. I love challenges, and I would say in my personal life and my professional life I've been able to recognize good ones when I see them. Teva is definitely a challenge and it's a great brand that definitely needs rejuvenation and energy and I think it can become a much, much bigger player than it is, even though it's a big brand. There is so much opportunity.

OB: What should the industry know about Carlo Lingiardi? What's your background?

LINGIARDI: My background is primarily in footwear and apparel. My more defining part of my career was when I spent nine years at Gore. I started in Italy in 1991, and it was the beginning of the footwear business for Gore-Tex and nobody really knew how to create a business that would be sustainable and successful for all the parties involved. I came in and started figuring out how to make things work, and basically nine years later I found myself in the United States after having worked everywhere in Europe and the U.S., and a little bit in South America. And really, at that point, I was doing apparel. I was working with The North Face and Patagonia, and I got a passion for the outdoor business and outdoor market both in Europe and the U.S., as well as the rest of the world. Then I went from Gore to Geox, which is a very successful casual shoe company. I basically started their U.S. operation from scratch. I opened an office, hired a secretary, and I was selling shoes by myself. Three years later I had a very good team of people in sales and a nice team inside for customer service and support. But my heart was in the outdoor industry. I realized that I was missing that environment that you see at the Outdoor Retailer Show. People who do things because they have a passion and a little less of a need to wear suits and ties. And I decided abruptly that this is not what I needed to do and I wanted to look for an opportunity in the outdoor industry.

OB: And you found yourself at Tecnica?