Christine Cross and John Holland will retire from the board of outdoor apparel retailer Kathmandu, with the Kiwi-based retailer announcing replacement directors following an extensive international search.

Holland has been a director of Kathmandu since the company’s Initial Public Offering in 2009 while Christine Cross has served as a director since 2012.

The two new directors joining the board are Philip Bowman and Brent Scrimshaw.

Bowman is an Australian who has worked for many years in the UK and USA and is relocating to New Zealand towards the end of this year. He has experience in retail and other sectors including roles as CFO of Bass, CEO of Bass Taverns, executive chairman of Liberty PLC, CEO of Allied Domecq, chairman of Coral Eurobet, CEO of Scottish Power and CEO of Smiths Group. He has also held office as an independent director of BSkyB, Scottish & Newcastle and Berry Bros. & Rudd. He currently sits on the boards of luxury goods business Burberry Group, Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial SA, and is chairman of Dubai based Majid al Futtaim Properties and housebuilder The Miller Homes Group (UK).

Scrimshaw, also Australian, had an 18-year career with Nike Inc across marketing, commerce and general management. He led marketing across Nike Pacific, was the regional GM for Nike Nth America, was the chief marketing officer for Nike EMEA, and also served as vice president and chief executive of Nike Western Europe. He retired from Nike in 2012 and is currently the CEO and Co-Founder of Unscriptd.com and is a non-executive director of ASX listed Rhinomed (RNO) and Catapult International Limited (CAT).

David Kirk, chairman of Kathmandu, said both directiors “bring absolutely first class understanding of retail, brand development and international markets” and are a “great fit for the next stage of Kathmandu’s journey.”