Glen Barad, CEO and founder of Taos Footwear, has announced a round of “long overdue” promotions for the 19-year-old company. COO Bill Langrell, who has been with Taos since day one, adds president to his title. National Sales Manager and 18-year company veteran Sylvia Jensen is now Vice President of Domestic Sales. Mike Walker, who joined from The Walking Company nearly three years ago, adds Vice President to his current title of Director of Marketing and Ecommerce. Oscar Campos, currently Director of Finance, is now CFO.
“They’re some of the most dedicated, hardworking, passionate, and personable people in the industry,” Barad says. “The reason for our success is because of them.”
Barad says Langrell and Jensen’s loyalty and dedication deserve recognition, especially. “They worked straight through the pandemic and helped get our company back to normalcy,” he says. “Now it’s a good time to focus on all of them as individuals, and not on all of the challenges the industry has been going through.”
The promotions represent a change in Taos philosophy. “We’ve never really been about titles,” Barad says. “But these teammates have formed this company, and it’s time for the industry to know what the power of their efforts has earned them. They should feel good about the new titles, and they should be proud of themselves as I am.”
It’s business as usual at Taos. The leadership team continues to meet regularly. But Barad can now devote more time working in his wheelhouse of product, merchandising, buying, and sourcing. He’s spent more than 40 years honing his skills in those areas. No product detail is too small, and the fit must be perfect. Barad is a student of shoes, which lies at the forefront of Taos being a category leader.
On that note, it’s another strong year in the books for the company, and the outlook for 2025 is for “continued growth.” The well-oiled team, though, isn’t resting on its laurels. “We’re working on analyzing and planning better,” Barad says. “Also, we’ll be allocating more resources to marketing. With these key pillars, we don’t see anything but positives for Taos going forward.”
