Norm MacLeod, 1929-2013

Even though I haven't spent much time, one-on-one, with him, Norm has had a huge influence on me, both as an inspiration and an example. Norm passed away on July 10 in Bend, Oregon.

A former marketing executive with Beconta, a leading sporting goods distributor in the 60s and 70s, Norm MacLeod was before anything a passionate skier, which often is a rare trait among ski business leaders that are in the industry for their own image, the prestige it gave them and to a slightly lesser extent, the money they can reap.

Before anything he loved the sport of skiing and as a true-blooded skier, was also an opinionated maverick and a free spirit. The first time I met with him at the Look ski binding factory in France, I liked him. I remember that at that time, Look had a tough time transitioning its famous Look Nevada / Grand Prix binding into a mass market item (Salomon was starting to seriously erode its number 1 position).

One day of 1975, Norm was showing Look's founder and his R&D director a polycarbonate binding made by Allsop, an american company, telling them this was the future, and sure enough, three year later, it became the present, in other words, the state of the art... Norm provided me with the example I needed and also inspired my move to the Western United States.

Thank you Norm for the example you set for me, and I hope your soul finds some great, magical snow on her new pathway!