Callaway Golf Company has announced the appointment of Patrice Hutin as the new Managing Director of the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Callaway Golf Europe Ltd. The appointment is effective immediately.
Hutin joined Callaway Golf Europe in February 2000 as Senior Vice President; Sales. Prior to that time he had served as a consultant to Callaway Golf for almost two years. He is the former president of both Taylor Made Golf (1985-87) and Cleveland Golf (1990-96). Hutin will lead Callaway Golf’s European operations, serving 16 countries with about 200 employees. He will be based at Callaway Golf Europe’s headquarters in Chessington, in Surrey. Sales by Callaway Golf Europe exceeded US$100 million in 1999.
“Patrice is an experienced golf executive who will provide excellent leadership for our growing European operations,” said Chuck Yash, President of Callaway Golf. “We are very fortunate to have him as a part of our global management team.”
Hutin succeeds Kai Flint, who had served as Managing Director since 1998. During this time, Flint oversaw the consolidation of all European distributors and operations into Callaway Golf Europe. Prior to that, Flint had been a distributor for Callaway Golf in Germany and the head of Callaway Golf’s German subsidiary.
“Kai had indicated his wish to step down from his position for quite some time,” Yash said. “He suggested that Patrice be his successor. We are very thankful for the nearly 10 years of service that Kai has given to Callaway Golf, taking the Callaway Golf brand to the market leader position in every European market.”