18 Aug Oboz Opens in Portland, Adds to Product Creation Team
Oboz Footwear of Bozeman, MT opened a product design and development office based in Portland, OR and added two members to its product creation team.
Brad Long has been named director of product and Seth Brown senior product developer. Long and Brown join Portland-based Design Director Chuck Roth and Bozeman-based Product Development Manager Derek Gustafson.
Brad-Long—Oboz
Brad Long, Director of Product
“We are pleased to welcome Brad and Seth aboard to amp up Oboz’s future product lines,” said John Connelly, president and founder of Oboz. “Our rapid growth in recent years has made it clear that additional resources and talent were needed as we look ahead. Brad, Seth and a Portland product center offer that. I’m very excited to have the opportunity to work with such collaborative, visionary and experienced professionals to accomplish our strategic footwear initiatives”.
Brad Long has over 35 years of experience in athletic and outdoor footwear development, engineering and project management, much of it with Nike. His background includes product innovation, product line management, testing, merchandising and marketing and product engineering. He also worked with footwear manufacturers in Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Indonesia and Italy. Long has been awarded two Industrial Designer Society of America awards, as well as two Nike Milestone awards.
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Seth Brown, Senior Product Developer
Seth Brown most recently was the director of Asia footwear product development for VF Timberland, where he led product creation teams and partners to deliver on-time and accurate products from concept through development and commercialization. In his 30 years in the industry, he held positions with Nike, Adidas, Scott USA and other high profile footwear companies. Additionally, he has worked with over 70 different footwear manufacturers in six different countries.
Oboz added a Portland location to “give us the best of both worlds,” said Connelly. “Our roots are in Bozeman and the surrounding mountains, and Portland adds energy to what we will accomplish in the future.”
Chuck Roth, who co-founded Oboz and has designed its shoes and boots since the company was founded in 2007, explained that “resources in Portland that are second to none as far as footwear. This is where it all happens.”