Longtime ski-apparel executive Albert H. Diem, 81, died March 5 at his home in Derby Line, Vermont.
Born in Zurich, Switzerland, he earned a college degree in textile manufacturing. In the early 1960s he moved to New York to represent Schoeller, the Swiss manufacturer of woolen and stretch fabrics.
In 1966, Diem met and married his wife Gail, and with Steve Crisafulli and Frank Hamilton took the reins at Slalom Skiwear. Diem worked as sales manager and oversaw product design. The couple moved to Vermont in 1969.
A few years later, Diem convinced the Bogner family to build a factory in the United States. When the plant opened in Newport, Vermont, in 1973, the Slalom partnership also took on distribution of Bogner. By 1979 the workload grew onerous and Diem hired a new sales force on behalf of Bogner, which then split off. In 1988, Diem returned to Schoeller and set up the company’s U.S. warehouse in Newport. —S.M.
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