Speedo Taps Kev McFadyen as Global Brand Director
● He succeeds Rob Hicking, who is leaving the company.
Kev McFadyen has been named global brand director of Speedo, owned by Pentland Brands.
He succeeds Rob Hicking, who joined Speedo as head of finance in 2011, becoming chief financial officer in 2015 and assuming the Speedo brand director role in 2017.
McFadyen joined Pentland as brand director for Berghaus in 2018. Since then he has led Berghaus to growth across financial and brand metrics, including product development and expansion into new markets.
Earlier he worked at such brands as Red Bull, Heineken, 02 and Nando’s.
In his new role McFadyen will be responsible for the Speedo brand, including global product and marketing.
“Kev has a passion for sport and outstanding credentials in building brands across multiple industries,” said Chirag Patel, chief executive officer of Pentland Brands. “We know that he will bring an exciting new perspective to the Speedo brand and will seize the moment in making Speedo matter more to consumers in an Olympic year.”
On Hicking’s departure, Patel said, “I would like to thank Rob for his incredible leadership over the last nine years. Rob has led the brand in delivering yearover-year sales and profit growth, its investment into emerging markets and positioning Speedo as the categoryleading brand for both competitive and regular swimmers.”
McFadyen will join Speedo in January, but will remain on the Berghaus advisory board alongside Sir Chris Bonington and Leo Houlding. Nadine Thompson, commercial director for Berghaus and Endura, and Paul Anderton, head of category for Berghaus, will provide the day-to-day leadership for the brand on an interim basis.