With over 30 years of experience in the outdoor industry and a career that has involved senior positions at major companies, including Lowe Alpine, Mammut Sport Group and Berghaus, Mark Held was one of the founders of the European Outdoor Group (EOG) in 2003, which had the clear objective of uniting the fragmented outdoor industry by encouraging and facilitating collaboration on projects for the good of the whole sector. The EOG’s agenda covers key areas such as research, events, sustainability, responsibility, outreach, product safety and the promotion of participation in outdoor activities. In 2005, Mark agreed to take on the management of the EOG and became General Secretary, a role he has fulfilled ever since. Mark is actively involved in all areas of the sector and in addition to being the EOG General Secretary, he is also a Vice President of the Federation of European Outdoor Sporting Goods Industries (FESI) and acting Chairman of Fair Wear Foundation.   

“I always look forward to the Awards Jury meeting, partly due to the excitement seeing what new products are being launched, but also because the people, the place and the organization make the event a really positive thing to be part of.”