Glen Raven Custom Fabrics, best known as the makers of Sunbrella fabrics, has announced the hiring of Steve Pawl, a seasoned marketing strategist with more than 20 years of experience building international consumer brands, as its first Chief Marketing Officer. Glen Raven focuses primarily on awning, marine, furniture, RV, and convertible car top markets.
As CMO, Pawl, who has a strong track record of developing growth strategies and strengthening brands for global companies including Husqvarna, Fruit of the Loom, Newell Brands and Pfizer, will direct the global brandstrategy, positioning, and activation for Sunbrella as well as other trade brands within custom fabrics. He will also support Glen Raven marketing initiatives across the company’s global footprint. This elevated leadership position reflects the increased emphasis Glen Raven is placing on building connections with end-purchasers to drive preference and strengthening demand-creation programmes to increase sell-through of products featuring Sunbrella. In this new role, Pawl is charged with identifying new opportunities and delivering compelling solutions for a brand that has revolutionised the way the world thinks about how fabrics look, feel and perform, according to a statement by the company.
“The breadth and depth of Steve’s work in building global consumer brands in a variety of industries is a perfect fit for the first CMO of Sunbrella. As Sunbrella continues its growth trajectory, this position is a natural step in expanding the brand across complex markets globally. Through Steve’s leadership and proven ability to craft new purpose-driven brand strategies, we will continue our commitment to building stronger connections with our partners and end-users,” David Swers, President and Chief Operating Officer of Glen Raven said.
Pawl was most recently Vice President of Ecommerce for Husqvarna, where he also served as Vice President of brand and product marketing for the company’s consumer brands division. As marketing and product management leader for the $1 bn global division, Pawl crafted strategy for Husqvarna’s retail brand portfolio, including repositioning and refreshing its brands and developing innovation roadmaps.
“My focus as CMO for an iconic brand like Sunbrella is to work with the commercial, design and marketing teams to sharpen the Sunbrella brand positioning so we communicate a clear brand promise that resonates with customers and end-users and differentiates Sunbrella in the market. Our brand promise both informs and is reflected by everything we do, from messaging and customer experience to product development, designs and distribution. I’m looking forward to collaborating with my colleagues around the world and with our business partners to keep the Sunbrella brand fresh, inspired and relevant, and convey its unique performance advantages in a compelling way,” Pawl said.
