Dive Brief:

• Outdoor Voices on Monday announced that Pamela Catlett would be taking over as president and COO at the company, a position which has been vacant since Andrew Parietti left in 2017, according to an Outdoor Voices spokesperson.

• Before joining Outdoor voices, Catlett racked up experience at other major athletics retailers. She served as the senior vice president and group general manager of the women's and youth categories at Under Armour, according to a company press release emailed to Retail Dive. Catlett also has 13 years of prior experience with Nike, where she held roles as vice president and general manager of the women's training and amplify category and as vice president of Investor Relations.

• In her new role, Catlett will be working with founder and CEO Tyler Haney on "driving market leadership, and accelerating growth for all aspects of Outdoor Voices," per the release.

Dive Insight:

Outdoor Voices is #DoingThings with its executive board, and hiring an exec with a long history of experience from two of the startup's top competitors isn't a bad place to start.

The athleisure company sits at the center of a trend that has had a serious impact on how athletics retailers operate and shifted the focus from performance gear to styles that can as easily be worn in a social setting. Outdoor Voices also places a heavy emphasis on selling athletic gear that's not just for serious athletes, something that differentiates the brand from rivals Lululemon and Nike, among others.

The startup has quickly expanded its store footprint, with nine stores currently open and another coming soon, according to the company's website. That expansion, paired with the company's focus on community, has made it a brand worth watching. It hasn't had trouble attracting investors, either. The startup raised $34 million in a Series C funding round in March, bringing its total venture capital funding to over $50 million, and plans to use the money to scale its community.

Grabbing an exec with solid experience at established athletics brands should help the company pursue its next stage of growth, out of the startup field and into a better competitive position in the sportswear market.

"I've been searching for the right person to be a key partner with me for two years," Haney said in a statement. "It was worth the wait because Pam brings to us a wealth of knowledge and experience, having worked for iconic brands such as Nike and Under Armour. She has an astute business acumen and knows how to drive revenue growth while building and leading a team. Like me, she will push for innovation and growth throughout our business."