PRADCO-Fishing Announces Promotions, Unification
OutdoorHub 03.13.12
PRADCO-Fishing announces the promotion of Chris Gulstad to Executive Director of Marketing for all PRADCO- Fishing brands, including Lindy and Bomber Saltwater, formerly separate entities. This restructure unites all Fishing brands under one management umbrella.
“Restructuring in this manner makes sense,” Gulstad said. “It creates a strong, unified team striving toward the same goal. I am so excited about this team and what we can accomplish.”
Gulstad spent the past four years guiding Lindy in all facets of business, from branding to advertising and promotions. He also served as the National Sales Manager for PRADCO-Fishing and as Director of Public Relations. He has been with PRADCO since 2001 following a career in the newspaper industry.
“Chris is very passionate and thoughtful about our brands and how we take them to market,” said PRADCO-Fishing General Manager Bruce Stanton. “He has been intricately involved in the various phases of our marketing effort for the past 11 years and we look forward to him steering our famous name brands going forward.”
As Executive Director of Marketing, Gulstad is responsible for public relations, graphics and advertising, product management, research and development, forecasting, new media content, field promotions, consumer relations and pro staff. He lives in Fort Smith with his wife, Janell, and their children Emma and Tucker.
Another aspect of PRADCO-Fishing’s restructuring effort is the promotion of Jason Needham to Executive Director of Product Development. Needham will manage the entire product development process for all PRADCO-Fishing brands and products, including Bomber Saltwater and Lindy. He will oversee a team of engineers and technicians to ensure smooth manufacture of new and existing products.
Needham has a well-rounded background in product development with his experience in quality control engineering and manufacturing at several companies, including PRADCO. He also served several years as part of the sales and marketing team.
“Jason has shown tremendous leadership qualities since he’s been at PRADCO and we’re excited that he wants to provide leadership in our product development process,” Stanton said. “Many of our most exciting product introductions over the past several years have been because of his idea generation and ability to successfully carry the product through to the manufacturing process.”
Needham and his wife, Melissa, and their son, Grant, live in Fort Smith.
