Primitive Skate - Product Management/Development Executive of the Year

Company: Primitive Skate, Los Angeles, CA
Company Description: Primitive is the leading skateboard brand in North America, with the largest globally renowned skate team in the industry. Founded and lead by top professional skater, Paul Rodriguez Jr in 2007. Originally a small shoe store in Chatsworth, California has now become the global headquarters for the brand.
Nomination Category: Product Management Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Product Management/Development Executive of the Year

Nomination Title: Greg Cassius , Director of Product Management & Merchandising

When Greg Cassius started with Primitive on January 2017 we would not know the incredible brand changing journey we would soon be on for 2018.

Primitive was seated well within our marketplace with noticeable market share and consumer awareness. However, like a lot of small business experiencing growth faster than expected, we needed to find someone to help take on the challenge of growth and to help course correct internal process issues. But, there hadn’t been anyone seated in the company before with the business acumen to take on managing business on all fronts as well and initiate projects/products that were sustainable as well as creative. It takes a rare find to check so many critical boxes. Then one day, Greg Cassius appeared in an application. Who was this person with over a decade’s worth of experience so early in his career that led him down a path of once major apparel buyer turned designer turned developer turned product manager? And, within all of those rare competency mixes, held senior titles in most. He seemed too good to be true! As it would turn out, everything about him is true.

Greg manages to find a way to accomplish the un-accomplishable , making it look effortless, as well as making sure to credit all of those around him on the journey. For many years as a brand we had done projects and created projects that would garner us visibility but never seem to be able to turn the kinds of profits needed to keep the moment. Within a full calendar year Greg would start one course correction at a time that would lead us to the most success year in our brands history with a financial spike that would increase our overall corporate revenue with sustainability.

How did he do this? It seemed to happen one step and one category and one department and one relationship and one project at a time. He would redefine our product segmentation and tirelessly revue historical until every item in the line seated at profitability with plans for growth. Greg would also sign some of the biggest and most difficult licenses to acquire for a company like ours (believe me, we had tried for years with agencies and directly to no avail.) He restructured roles and responsibilities within his team as well as new processes cross- functionally. Greg masterfully created spreadsheets and programs to capture in-season business to be able to react to market changes quickly. Greg has a way of creating briefs that were detailed and inclusive that would help things get to market and aided in the overall vision of that product at retail.

I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside this man and never once did he give up or complain about the task at hand. His excellence is boundless as is his passion for product and others. He is a treasure and deserving of any and all success. Please consider him for this prestigious award so that we can honor him and you can also get to know why he should be honored. --Primitive Skate