iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
Crocs, Inc., a global leader in innovative casual footwear, appointed a top Coca-Cola executive to its board of directors. The appointee will take charge from January 1, 2024. Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, the Company’s brands include Crocs and HEYDUDE, and its products are sold in more than 85 countries through wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels.
Neeraj Tolmare has more than 20 years of experience in leading technology teams and digital transformation initiatives across diverse industries. He currently serves as Global Chief Information Officer for The Coca-Cola Company, where he has built and led teams to modernize a legacy network and infrastructure footprint and to improve the organization’s global technology maturity. He also serves on the board of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta as well as the Georgia Tech Research Institute, Center for Development and Application of Internet of Things.
Before his current position, Tolmare worked at Fortune 50 companies like HP Inc., and Cisco Systems as well as at startups like Palm Inc. In these companies, he held various roles to lead global technology, data, and e-commerce functions to support double-digit growth for their online businesses.
“The opportunity to join the board at Crocs, Inc. is a perfect fit with my principles and values, and my passion to work for brands that are deeply entrenched in the society we live in and connect on a personal level, with a global audience,” said Mr. Tolmare.
Tolmare who will initially join the board’s Audit Committee holds degrees from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, and the College of Engineering in Pune, India. He started his career by working for iconic brands such as Palm, Flip Video, and Linksys where he led the online marketing and e-commerce units.
Crocs has also appointed another top corporate executive John Replogle to its board of directors. Replogle brings decades of global leadership positions at major consumer brands like Seventh Generation, Inc., Burt’s Bees, Inc., Unilever’s Skin Care division, and Diageo, Plc. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of two public companies (Grove Collaborative, Inc. and Wolfspeed, Inc.) and previously served on the public company board of directors for Sealy Corporation. He is also a Founding Partner of One Better Ventures, LLC, a venture capital firm focused on investing in consumer-centric businesses that have a positive impact on the world.
“I’m delighted to join the Crocs board and steward one of the more innovative footwear companies today,” said Replogle. “The organization has a thriving and inclusive culture that has fueled the iconic Crocs brand in markets around the globe, and which will have a significant impact on the HEYDUDE brand as it scales globally. Having built a career growing and leading purpose-led consumer brands, this opportunity is unparalleled.”
Replogle started his career at the Boston Consulting Group and holds degrees from Harvard Business School and Dartmouth College. He previously served as a director of Sealy Corporation from 2010 to 2013. Replogle will join the board’s Environmental, Social, and Governance Steering Committee.
“I am delighted that these two outstanding individuals are joining the Crocs board of directors after an extensive search process. Throughout his career, John has been a driving force in stewarding healthy, transformative growth while enhancing corporate social responsibility measures at many respected consumer-facing global organizations,” said Thomas Smach, Chairman of the Board of Crocs, Inc. “Neeraj brings outstanding and highly relevant global leadership expertise to the board as Crocs evolves its approach to digital transformation for global operations optimization,” said Smach. “His distinctive ability to elevate business practices and successfully scale online growth through technological advancement will lend guidance to create lasting impact. We look forward to their contributions to the board.”
Crocs, Inc. Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Rees, added: “I am thrilled to be working with these two world-class executives and leaders. John has long been a respected and innovative leader for strong consumer brands with a strong determination to put people and the planet first, and Neeraj’s terrific experience elevating business through technology will help us to identify and solve for the next wave of opportunities in digitization and automation for scale. Their combined experience and relevant skill sets will undoubtedly add immense value to our board as we guide the future of the company and work to create impactful change for long-term, sustainable growth.”
