John Karsten Solheim, eldest son of John A. Solheim and grandson of PING founder Karsten Solheim, was appointed president of PING on December 12, 2016, effective January 1, 2017. He succeeds Doug Hawken as president , who is retiring after a distinguished 45-year career with the company that has seen him move from assistant production manager to president and chief operating officer, a position he has held since 1999.

John K. Solheim - Photo: DR

"I am very proud to appoint my eldest son, John K., to the role of president of our family company"said John A. Solheim, President and CEO of PING, who officially announced the promotion in a meeting with staff. “He has been prepared for this role for several years and is ready to take the next step. Together with the other third generation family members and our strong teams across the organization, I am confident that John K. will continue to advance our primary focus of engineering innovative, performance-based products. of the highest quality, while providing unmatched levels of service. "

John K. has served as Executive Vice President for the past two years after a four year assignment as President of PING Golf Japan, with successful experience in re-positioning the PING brand in Japan and Asia. Prior to his time in Japan, he oversaw PING's product development efforts as vice president of engineering. As a high school student, he worked during the summers in the engineering department, notably with his grandfather, an experience that gave him an education superior to any other as he observed and absorbed the Karsten's passion for the brand he created in his garage in 1959. John K. graduated from Arizona Summa Cum Laude State University (ASU) in 1996 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. In 2001, he obtained an MBA degree from ASU.

"I am happy to have this opportunity"said John K., 42, who is married with four children. " I have aspired to this for most of my career. This responsibility is something that I don't believe you can ever be completely ready for, but I am ready. We all know a lot has changed since my grandfather entered the golf industry over five decades ago. But what hasn't changed is the Karsten foundation built here at PING. We are committed to making the best golf products in the world to help golfers play better and enjoy the game. I look forward to working even more closely with my dad and the rest of the third generation family members that we do. focus on growing PING's reputation as an industry leader. We have built huge teams across all disciplines within the company which has put us in a strong position in a difficult industry ”.

In his new role, John K. will oversee the day-to-day activities of the company, including all functions related to product development, supply chain management, production and sales / marketing. In addition to his father, his brothers Andy (executive vice president) and David (vice president) and cousin Stacey (Solheim) Pauwels (executive vice president) are also part of the management team.

The company also announced that current Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mike Trueblood has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Operations / CFO. He will take on additional responsibilities related to the day-to-day operations of the business.