Arctic Cat adds new board members
News Release
Arctic Cat Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAT) announced that current director Kenneth J. Roering was named board chair, succeeding Christopher Twomey, who retired from the board at the end of his term. In addition, Kim A. Brink, chief operating officer of WPP’s Team Detroit, the dedicated global marketing agency for Ford Motor Company, has been elected to Arctic Cat’s board of directors. Arctic Cat now has seven members on its board of directors, the majority of whom are independent.
Commenting on Arctic Cat’s board chair transition, lead director D. Christian Koch said: “The board thanks Chris Twomey for his many years of dedicated leadership and tremendous contributions as chairman of Arctic Cat’s board. We also congratulate Ken on his new role.”
Twomey served as the company’s CEO from January 1986 to December 2010 and from June 2014 to December 2014. He was named a director of the company in 1987 and was board chair from 2003 to 2012, and again from June 2014 until his retirement from the board in August 2015.
Kenneth J. Roering has served on Arctic Cat’s board since 1996. He is a professor emeritus of marketing at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, where he served as The Pillsbury Company-Paul S. Gerot Chair for 22 years and as department chair for 10 years. Roering has consulted with more than 50 global companies, published more than 70 articles and written two books in the areas of marketing strategy and new product development. With his extensive academic work and broad experience as a consultant for many respected companies, Roering brings to the board extensive marketing, brand management and strategic management expertise, as well as significant corporate governance leadership.
“In addition, we are very pleased to welcome Kim to Arctic Cat’s board,” Koch stated. “Kim brings exceptional leadership, passion, and proven marketing and advertising savvy in the automotive and racing markets. Her expertise will be invaluable in helping Arctic Cat build its global brand. We look forward to her contributions.”
Brink was named COO of WPP’s Team Detroit agency in July 2015, with responsibility for operations of the creative agency’s eight global locations and 3,500 employees. Previously, she was senior vice president of marketing at National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR). As part of NASCAR’s executive leadership team, she played a pivotal role in developing strategies to grow the youth and Hispanic fan base, as well as reach the next generation of NASCAR fans. Before that, she served as NASCAR’s managing director of brand and consumer marketing.
Brink joined NASCAR from General Motors, where she was executive director of advertising and sales promotion for Cadillac. In this position, she led the introduction of the CTS Coupe. Brink also served as general director of advertising and sales promotions with Chevrolet, where she was responsible for over 20 vehicle launches and strategic promotional partnerships with NASCAR, Major League Baseball and the Country Music Association.
Brink attended Wayne State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1988 and an MBA degree in 1989, both in marketing. In addition, she graduated from the Kellogg Executive Development Program at Northwestern University.
Brink was recognized by Automotive News as one of the 100 Leading Women in the automotive industry in 2000 and as one of their Automotive All Stars in 2004 and 2008. In 2012, SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily recognized Brink as part of their class of “Game Changers: Women in Sports Business.” She is a former board member of NBC Universal and the Country Music Association.