Jeff Engelhardt
Chief Design Officer
San Francisco | United States
In my own words
— Jeff<p><ul><p>Well over a decade of experience successfully leading product, brand, and business teams through thoughtful, multi-disciplinary strategies & executions that drive innovation, creating both business value & consumer joy.</p><p> </p><p>• Currently leading all design & creative for the Ricco Global Collective house of brands - ranging from strategy, to product, to visual identity, to brand voice - across multiple categories & disciplines.</p><p>• Led a complete overhaul of Giro’s footwear line, resulting in back-to-back years of record sales & profits in 2020 and 2021 and growing the category 300% to $15M in net sales.</p><p>• Grew Swenyo's product assortment from 25 SKUs at launch to over 700 in less than 2 years.</p><p>• Created a top-to-bottom redesign of CrossFit 760's brand identity, allowing for their expansion from a single Southern California location to over a dozen gyms across multiple states and 2 continents - all in less than 3 years.</p><p>• Envisioned, designed, launched, and operated Virtue Athletic - ultimately resulting in a sucessful $60k Kickstarter campaign and a $2.5MM valuation after less than 1 year in business.</p><p> </p><p>jeff-engelhardt.com</p></ul></p>
Trajectory
May 2024 — Now
Chief Design Officer · Ricco Global Collective
• Directly advising the CEO on brand strategy, corporate structure, financials, and project timelines to best position Ricco Global for sustained growth & profitability.
• Collaborating with the C-suite executive team to qualify the market impact & business potential for over a half-dozen startup initiatives.
• In under one month providing quantitative & qualitative research-based guidance for which initiatives to prioritize.
• Building comprehensive go-to-market roadmaps & growth strategies.
• Created a cohesive brand story & pitch to properly prepare our first initiative to go out for a $10M+ seed funding round.
• Leading all design & creative in categories ranging from hospitality & co-working to beauty & sexual wellness.
• Spearheading innovation with user-centered design thinking principals.
• Overseeing the creation and extension of multiple brand identity systems, including voice & mission, in under three months.
• Assessing needs & resources to build a high-performing team of designers & creatives via a combination of studios, contractors, and in-house talent.
Mar 2020 — Jul 2023
Senior Industrial Designer | Acting Design Director · Giro Sport Design
• Served as acting Design Director for over 3 years, leading Giro’s footwear, softgoods, and accessories categories from concept through design, development, and commercialization.
• Launched over 60 new models in 6 years, including an overhaul of 100% of the footwear line between 2016 and 2022.
• Led the footwear category to back-to-back years of record sales & profits in 2020 & 2021, growing the category 300% to $15MM in net sales.
• Directed, managed, and led interns, junior designers, developers, vendors, and independent contractors.
• Led systemic sustainability initiatives for Giro’s footwear & snow helmet categories.
Sep 2018 — Sep 2021
Product Director | Design Director | Founder · VIRTUE Athletic
• In less than 1 year - designed, developed, branded, marketed, and
launched an independent, profitable footwear brand.
• Launched via Kickstarter raising over $60k in 30 days, with an additional
$10k in post-launch pre-orders.
• Transformed the business to an operational direct-to-consumer,
e-commerce brand.
• Grew to a valuation of $2.5MM.
• Created & ran multi-channel paid & grassroots marketing & social media
campaigns.
• Directed & managed logistics, finances, customer service, and outside
vendors on top of all design, production, and marketing duties.
Sep 2014 — Sep 2021
Design Director | Brand Designer | Industrial Designer · Freelance
• Directed the creation of products, business strategies, brand identities,
standards guides, and marketing materials for independent clients.
• Completely rebranded CrossFit 760, creating an identity system that
allowed for growth from a single location in Southern California to over a
dozen locations across multiple states and 2 continents.
• Managed all project budgets, timelines, financials, and client relations.
Nov 2016 — Mar 2020
Industrial Designer - Footwear & Softgoods · Giro Sport Design
/ Led all design for Giro’s footwear & softgoods/accessories categories
/ Directed, managed, and led interns, junior designers, developers, vendors, and independent contractors
/ Launched over 60 new models in 6+ years, including an overhaul of 100% of the footwear line between 2016 and 2023
/ Led Giro’s footwear category to back-to-back years of record sales & profits in 2020 and 2021, growing the category 300% to $15M in net sales
Sep 2014 — Sep 2016
Product Manager Lead Industrial Designer · SWENYO
• Collaboratively led all Swenyo product design, development, line management, and merchandising.
• Grew Swenyo's product assortment from 25 SKUs at launch to over 700
SKUs in less than 2 years.
• Managed a product line that included in-house designed, externally designed, OEM, drop-ship, and wholesale product assortments.
• Directed, managed, and led junior designers, developers, vendors, and independent contractors.
Product Director | Design Director
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Jul 2010 — Sep 2014
Lead Industrial Designer · Vapor Studio
• Led Vapor Studio’s industrial design department as well as select brand
design projects.
• Led projects from blue sky concept & ideation through refinement,
development, production, implementation, and final delivery.
• Oversaw & managed clients, project resources, timelines, and budgets.
• Directed & managed interns & junior designers, including those at our
satellite studio in Southeast Asia.
• Clients included Adidas, Oakley, Spy Optic, Skullcandy, Columbia, Chaco,
and Alpinestars.
Feb 2010 — Apr 2010
Industrial Design Intern · Vapor Studio
Creating breakthrough products and brands for the action sports and lifestyle industries. Responsibilities include the direction of design and engineering teams (domestic and international), product and brand design and development, and client management.
Jun 2009 — Sep 2009
Industrial Design Intern · Newell Rubbermaid
Worked as a part of the design team for Newell Rubbermaid's Goody and Solano brands. Duties included sketching, model making, and ergonomic evaluation.
Jan 2009 — Mar 2009
Industrial Design Intern · Ion Design
Provided product design for client projects in the consumer, medical, and commercial industries.
Jun 2008 — Sep 2008
Industrial Design Intern · Dicks Sporting Goods
Worked on the golf and outdoor teams designing products for Dicks Sporting Goods in-house brands such as Maxfli Golf.
Jan 2008 — Mar 2008
Industrial Design Intern - Infant Team · Fisher-Price
Designed conceptual and in-line products for Fisher-Price's infant line of toys.
Jun 2007 — Sep 2007
Industrial Design Intern - Boys Team · Fisher-Price
Designed conceptual and in-line products for Fisher-Price's boys line of toys.
Activity
Education history
University of Cincinnati
Bachelors of Science - Industrial Design | 2005 - 2010
