PORTFOLIO COMPANY NEWS
El Cap Appoints Leadership Team
November 12, 2018 – El Cap, the new parent company of Earth Treks and Planet Granite, today announced the election of Topher Gaylord as an independent member of its Board of Directors. In addition, Scott Yeager joined El Cap as its Chief Financial Officer and Chris Jenkins has been appointed as the Company’s Chief Strategy Officer.
“These new team members join El Cap at an exciting time as we continue to introduce more people to the world of climbing,” said Robert Cohen, CEO of El Cap. “The addition of these positions complements our existing team’s skills and experiences, and we are confident they will provide valuable perspectives as we continue to create community spaces for people to share their love of climbing, adventure and fitness. We look forward to their contributions and are excited they chose El Cap.”
“Much like everyone else in the outdoor and fitness industries, I have been following El Cap’s successes,” said Gaylord. “I admire El Cap for its dynamic leadership team and innovative approach to climbing gyms and am honored to be joining their Board.”
Topher Gaylord has a lifetime of experience in the athletic and outdoor industries both professionally and as an athlete. Topher currently serves as Senior VP & Group General Manager of Under Armour’s Run, Train and Outdoor divisions. He is an accomplished leader with over three decades of experience in sales, marketing and business development at leading outdoor companies. Prior to Under Armour, Topher served at Columbia Sportswear as President of the Mountain Hardwear & Montrail Brands. His career also includes 17 years with VF Corporation in various leadership roles, including President of the International Outdoor & Action Sports division, leading the development of The North Face, Vans, Reef, JanSport brands.
Scott Yager has decades of finance and management experience in adventure companies. He spent the last 10 years at iFLY Indoor Skydiving, and helped the organization grow from 8 employees to over 1,000 across 37 locations worldwide, supported by multiple debt and equity financings. Scott greatly enjoys helping develop complex organizations focused on delivering unique, exciting guest experiences while maintaining strong customer service.
With more than 20 years of experience with the El Cap family, Chris Jenkins has accepted the challenge of filling the newly-designed role of Chief Strategy Officer. Chris possesses a blend of strong executive leadership skills, business acumen, and industry experience, which will be well-suited to the CSO position. He is passionate about the El Cap community and using data to create strategies that ultimately create better experiences for our members and guests.