Harlan Kent joined Pure Fishing, the world’s largest fishing tackle company, as CEO in January of 2019. Pure Fishing with an iconic portfolio of brands like Berkeley, Abu Garcia, Penn, and Shakespeare sells in over 50 countries worldwide. Kent has over 30 years of leadership experience with leading consumer packaged goods companies.
Earlier Kent served as Vice President of sales and marketing for Winchester Ammunition after starting is career in management consulting with Bain & Company, as well as brand management at Campbell Soup. Prior to joining Pure Fishing, he served as the CEO of Performance Sports Group (Bauer Hockey, Easton Baseball), and the CEO of Yankee Candle Company. While at Yankee Candle, he was featured in an episode of Undercover Boss.
He has served on numerous Boards including Costa del Mar, PF Chang, Rue 21 and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Currently he is a board member of the American Sportsfishing Association, Unger Global, and the Ocean Reef Community Association.
Kent is a passionate outdoorsman having been raised in rural Pennsylvania, and he spent many summers working at his family’s fishing lodge in Alaska. He is passionate about conservation and supports numerous groups working for clean water. He has a BA in economics from Dartmouth College and lives in the Florida Keys with his wife and his boat.
