Pearl Izumi USA hires Sword as president

LOUISVILLE — Cycling gear maker Pearl Izumi USA Inc. in Louisville has hired Chris Sword as president, replacing Mike O’Conner, who retired in December.

Sword is considered a product and brand expert with international business experience.

For the past nine years, Sword was president at the Oberalp Group, which owns the Dynafit, Salewa, Wild Country and Pomoca brands. Prior to Oberalp, Sword worked for Ford Motor Co. and Russell Athletic.

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Pearl Izumi in January shut down its division that designed and manufactured shoes and apparel for runners to focus solely on its division that makes apparel and gear for bicyclists in the road, mountain and triathlon disciplines.

Pearl Izumi, a subsidiary of the Shimano Group, built its world headquarters at 101 S. Taylor Ave. in the Colorado Technology Center in 2013. Pearl Izumi has 98 employees in Louisville, and Shimano has 1,258 employees worldwide.

Pearl Izumi was founded more than 65 years ago by cyclist Kinji Shimizu, who redefined cycling apparel by researching new fabrics and immersing himself in studying the body in motion on a bike.