Creative Agencies

Outdoor

Snow

Travel

Cooking

Sustainability

Design & innovation

Reading (white papers

Technical journals

Academic papers

Corporate culture

Innovation)

CEO & Technical Director

Using sustainable materials solutions to engineer superior performance into outdoor and performance sporting goods.
- 20 years in the outdoor and active sports markets
- listed inventor on more than 90 patents and patents pending
- Currently serving as CEO & Technical Director of PDA EcoLab, SAS in Grenoble, France

•  Identify sectors of outdoors and active sport markets for PDA to participate in
     - Focus on sectors of the market that are lagging behind the imperative pace of change to sustainability
     - Develop specific business approaches for the dispersion of our innovations which are tailored to the permeability of each market and include creating OEM supply, developing retail brands, and consultancy for existing brands

•  Develop brand identities and codify brand values into actionable guidelines

•  Generate more than 20 protectable IP concepts including 5 patents pending for sustainable ski construction, 3 patents pending for sustainable pole construction, 2 patents for sustainable fabric construction

•  Create relationships with research partners including the Centre National de la Research Scientifique of France, University of Grenoble Alpes, Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble, and CenTexBel

•  Identify and build relationships with strategic partners to validate the technology and support GTM

•  Complete strategic analysis of current and past Raidlight-Vertical performance for sourcing, design, development, product line management, and marketing to create an actionable set of guidelines to achieve Rossi-specified targets

•  Edit and reorganize Raidlight and Vertical product lines to streamline product story and consumer engagement

•  Define and oversee seasonal line plans, design, development, and costing for Raidlight and Vertical brands of trail running and alpine gear
     - Codify line plans into actionable product and design briefs for design & development team
     - Identify opportunities and solutions for product differentiation in apparel, packs, equipment, and accessories, and direct product designers to successful execution of concepts
     - Achieve a 9-point YOY margin increase on packs and bags, and 4-point YOY margin increase for apparel for SS19 across the two brands creating an average FOB margin of 64 points

•  Direct innovation programs for products including running vests, technical outerwear, and alpine equipment

•  Prepare summary of internal/external product differentiation to build product story for sales & marketing teams 

•  Update manufacturing and sourcing for brands; re-energize long-term manufacturing relationships

•  Create and maintain all WIP documentation for design & development team

•  Oversee R&D and Production team of six - 3 developers, a designer, a development technician, and a production & quality manager - and all associated work product to ensure highest level of performance and efficiency

Director of R&D - Outdoor Business Unit

• Manage creative and development processes; oversee collaboration of product developer, industrial  designer, engineering, and other roles in each project

• Gain familiarity with wide range of manufacturing processes and materials utilized by clients in order to understand production capabilities/limitations and opportunities for innovation

• Direct product and intellectual property development for clients such as BOA Technologies, UTX/Duraflex, Decca Clothing, Vittoria Tires, Per Brands NL, ODI Grips, and Zipp Compositech, as well as speculative projects in the sporting and outdoor industries 

• Develop and manage branding and graphic collateral for clients including Backpacker Magazine/AIM Media, Rocky Mountain Bicycle Festival, Mission Sports Group, and other outdoor-industry clients.

• Develop more than 40 patents and patents pending for clients 

• Manage outside creative team including more than a dozen independent contractors

Principal

• Serve as Product Line Manager, Developer, and Designer for the Ultimate Direction brand of trail-running and mountain-sport products

• Design and specify all products for Ultimate Direction including bottles, reservoirs, apparel, packs, proprietary hardware, and equipment
- Awarded “Best of Competitor 2015” by Competitor Magazine, “Gear of the Year 2015” by
Runner’s World Magazine, “Editor’s Choice” by Trail Runner Magazine, and “Most Innovative” by Ultra Running Magazine for the UD?Ultra Jacket
- Awarded “Gear of the Year 2015” by Men’s Journal for the Fastpack 30
- Awarded “Editor’s Choice 2016” by Competitor Magazine for Ultra Vesta (S16 update)
- Awarded “Editor’s Choice 2016” by Competitor Magazine for Signature Series 3.0 PB Adventure Vest

Sr. Product & Design Manager

• Responsible for all product design/development and management for ACL entities (Hüdz, Temple Cycles, and Groupe de Tete)
- Work with international distributors to determine needs and requirements of individual markets around the world
- Manage and collaborate with team of outside contractors to engineer, reverse-engineer, design and develop products ranging from triathlon bicycles to cyclocross-specific brake hoods

• Manage day-to-day operations including sales, marketing, customer service, and strategic relationships 

• Establish and manage all budgeting for R&D, production, sales/marketing, and operations

• Oversee manufacturing and set quality control standards for outside vendors

• Implement and manage all vendor/manufacturing relationships to ensure consistently superior level of production and functionality

• Manage staff of three to five and numerous outside contractors

Founder & President

• Provide expert technical consulting for teams including US National Triathlon Team at the Olympic Training Center, Garmin ProTour Cycling Team and Exergy Women’s Pro Cycling Team
- Participate in more than 200 hours of wind-tunnel testing to assess equipment and rider position
- Participate in product and intellectual property development on items including the Pearl Izumi speed suit and “super bootie,” Zipp, and other sponsor products 
- Work on “Black-Box” projects under the supervision of Allen Lim (items which provide a technological edge without causing sponsor-correctness issues such as bearings, chains, aerobars, etc.)
- Develop and implement biodynamics-based triathlon fitting system for Olympic Training Center
- Provide expert technical advice to Olympic-level triathletes 

• Study new materials and manufacturing techniques to be applied to cycling industry clients and gain familiarity with ergonomics, aerodynamics and biomechanics.

Technical Director

Find out detailed information about Lance JOHNSON, CEO & Technical Director in Grenoble, 38

Lance JOHNSON: CEO & Technical Director in Grenoble, 38

Lance JOHNSON

PDA EcoLab, SAS

Rossignol SAS, France

AlpineStart Consulting, Inc.

Excel Outdoors/Ultimate Direction

Applied Cycling Labs, Inc.

fasterisbetter*

MITx

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign