Hitting the Slopes with Passion and Integrity
John Stahler's first pair of ski boots were paid for with a big win at the roulette table while he was stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army. Since then, he's strapped on hundreds of boots and skis to product-test them on slopes—a big perquisite of being president and CEO of Tecnica USA . "I was a basketball player in college," he says, "and one of my nicknames was 'Stumble.' So I made sure we always hired skiers who are a lot better than I am."
Perhaps, but there are few better examples of living by one's passion and integrity. And making a legendary mark on an industry in the process. Stahler's passion came to the fore when he skied in Europe on his army leaves. After his service was complete, he went to Tuck and then did marketing for sports conglomerate AMF. Within five years, he headed back to Hanover to head up a small equipment distributor. "Dartmouth Skis was kind of a nothing company," he says. "But it was the opportunity to run my own businesses in an industry I had come to like a lot."
Early on, his company got badly burned when a supplier backed out halfway through a contract. "I said 'never again,' and since 1976, all my companies have been joint ventures or wholly owned. When your suppliers are your partners and have a vested interest, the rules are very different."
When Tecnica, a closely held Italian company, recruited him in 1976 to run its U.S. operation, its owners not only agreed to let him run the U.S. operation as an independent company but financed his buyout of Dartmouth Skis. It was a shrewd move: input from Stahler resulted in the development of Tecnica's well-received hiking boots and in-line skates. In 1983, he persuaded Tecnica to change to a radically new boot design and helped develop the revolutionary TNT boots. Later, his company Völkl Sport America, now a subsidiary of K2, pioneered three important innovations: powder skis, industry-norm wide skis, and deeper ski sidecuts that increased performance. Stahler also partnered with Donnay and helped develop its successful graphite tennis racket and sports accessories. Over time, Stahler started 12 companies, seven of which operated under the Tecnica USA umbrella, later to become the Tecnica Group.
His reputation for integrity—"knowing what's right and doing it, even when it's more convenient not to"—influenced the way he tested, priced, and released products and addressed problems. Once, at tremendous cost, he flew 5,500 pairs of boots back to Italy for buckle repairs. His insistence on high standards helped Tecnica Group's brands—including Briko, Nordica, Blizzard, Rollerblade, Dolomite, Nitro, and Lowa—position themselves at the top of the market.
Last year, Stahler sold off his companies to diversify his portfolio and left his position as chairman and CEO of Tecnica Group – North America. In December, he served as faculty advisor for a Tuck Global Consultancy team exploring a European growth strategy for Ben & Jerry's. Now he's working on his golf game and traveling with his wife. It may look a little like retirement but not to his eyes: "Maybe I just can't say the 'r' word yet," he says with a laugh. "I can see myself helping entrepreneurs, including my children, as an investor or advisor but not doing the heavy lifting and probably not in the ski industry. Why wreck the myth?"
