Effective April 1, Ricky Teale will join Zebco Brands as Commercial Director – Europe. In this new role, Ricky will spearhead Zebco’s European business, overseeing Preston Innovations and Zebco Europe.

Ricky will report to Jeff Pontius, who runs Zebco Brands worldwide and is based in the USA. Whilst Telford-based Ricky will be primarily working from the UK, he will also spend meaningful time in Continental Europe developing the considerable growth opportunities there. The management teams of Preston Innovations and Zebco Europe will both report to Ricky.

A lifelong angler, he spent 14 years at Preston Innovations ascending to Managing Director and drove its growth into a leading UK tackle company. Following this period, he was an integral figure in driving five years of rapid pan-European growth at Fox International as Group Marketing Director.

“We are very happy to have Ricky leading our growth strategy,” said Jeff Pontius. “He has tremendous strengths in sales, marketing, branding and product development, which are the engines of growth. We look forward to Ricky leading the strategic development of both Zebco Europe and Preston as well as finding ways the two business can help one another. With his leadership and the backing of Zebco and W.C. Bradley, I feel great about our future.”

According to Ricky: “Although I’m proud of my time there, this is not about me going back to Preston Innovations. What attracted me to this position is the challenge to build a larger European fishing business based on the strengths of both Zebco Europe and Preston, as well as any others who might join us in the future!”