Jeff Bowman is a business executive with unique experience and success in the outdoor equipment, apparel, footwear and medical device industries. He obtained an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania after previously attending Washington State University. Bowman holds numerous patents, and has served as an expert witness and management consultant in the outdoor and medical industries.

Prior to joining Cocona, Bowman held senior management positions at W.L. Gore and Associates (Gore), Malden Mills (Polartec), Cascade Designs and Massif. While at Gore, Bowman invented and/or helped to develop several implantable medical devices that achieved tremendous commercial success. He then guided the Gore-Tex footwear business from its early days to the commanding leadership role it still enjoys today in the outdoor footwear industry.

Bowman is credited with directing the development of the Polartec brand from its infancy to becoming one of the most widely recognized consumer brands in the Outdoor Apparel Industry. In addition, Bowman earned national recognition for crisis management after the fire that destroyed Malden Mills.

At Cascade Designs, Bowman led the company’s effort to revitalize its international business of manufacturing outdoor camping equipment by focusing on new product development, brand repositioning and customer relations. While at Massif, he managed the explosive growth of the company’s military and industrial apparel business by focusing on supply chain relationships, product quality and new product development.

Bowman is an avid climber, whitewater kayaker, skier and commercial pilot with a number of notable first ascents and descents around the world. He previously served for several years on the Board of the Access Fund, and has a long history of coaching championship baseball at the youth, select and high school levels.

Dr. Haggquist has over 30 years of experience in research and development. His research experience includes composite materials and the interaction of light with polymer materials. Dr. Haggquist has been involved in the development of a wide range of products including Photoconductor drums, Inks, UV absorbing car wax, UV absorbing fabrics, high-energy lasers, high-energy capacitors, master batch modification, artificial photosynthetic systems, organic photovoltaic cells, and fabric treatments. Prior to founding Cocona, Dr. Haggquist worked at Lexmark International on the Photoconductor Research and Development team.

At Cocona, Inc., Dr. Haggquist has developed two critical technologies that keep particles active throughout the manufacturing process to improve the performance of yarn, fabrics and film. He has also developed and standardized two novel methods to measure the drying rate of textiles.

Dr. Haggquist is responsible for all research, development and product certification at Cocona, Inc. This includes constantly evolving and improving the efficacy of the Company’s technology. Dr. Haggquist is also focused on growing and managing the company’s portfolio of intellectual property.

Edouard Liffran has a 20-year proven track record in the technical textile industry and is a prolific builder of brand partnerships. Liffran was made General Manager of Europe in January of 2015 but has been representing Cocona/37.5 in France, Spain, and Portugal for many years. A trusted ambassador for the company, he has been instrumental in developing many great brand partners for 37.5 such as Salomon, Rossignol, and Rip Curl, among others. Liffran was most recently managing Sourciva, an Agency and Consulting company operating in technical textiles and garment production for European Outdoor Sports brands. Prior to that he has held the position of Sales & Development Manager in synthetic yarn industry working with knitters and weavers across Europe. He also served as Export Sales Manager at Seram in the underwear and lingerie industry, where he supervised a network of independent sales agents. Liffran heads up the Cocona/37.5 European headquarters in Lyon, France.

For more than a decade, Wes Burgess has been working in the high-tech textile industry, from outdoor performance apparel to flame retardant military gear to synthetic tools for aerospace and subsea industries. He’s always been focused on new product development, commercializing next-generation value-added products that solve real-world problems.

Prior to joining Cocona, Burgess was New Product Development Leader at Cortland-Actuant. Responsibilities included working with global customers and industry groups to identify market opportunities while coordinating all regional activities to develop new products, design methods, techniques, practices and procedures to ensure the design and manufacture of engineered synthetic ropes, heavy lift slings, electro-optical-mechanical cables, and umbilicals for the heavy marine, subsea, ROV, seismic and defense markets. Previously he was Director of Development at Massif Mountain Gear Company, a world leader in supplying flame resistant and high performance outdoor apparel to the military, law enforcement, search and rescue professionals. There, Burgess directed fabric and technology development with budget and management responsibility for the development process from fiber to finished fabric, including quality specifications, performance, and on-time fabric commercialization and delivery. Burgess started his career at Unifi, Inc. as a Project Engineer. By the time, he left six years later he had been Technical Manager of specialty additives, recycle products and the nylon division directing company resources across manufacturing functions to ensure assets were employed to the correct mix of short and long-term opportunities while rapidly commercializing new product developments.

Burgess’ drive and entrepreneurial spirit also led to the development of the first major innovation to the cotton gin since Eli Whitney through a patent protected process he developed and a business he started. In addition, Burgess invented and patented technology that is currently protecting our troops and a separate technology that allows lighter-than-air ships to operate for longer periods of time in near space.

Burgess earned an MBA from Wake Forest University Babcock Graduate School of Management and a B.S. in Textile Engineering from North Carolina State University.

At Cocona, Burgess is a member of the executive team responsible for defining strategic sales, business, and product direction. He also manages worldwide yarn supply chain relationships as well as master batch and yarn inventories. He is responsible for all technical problem solving related to master batch and yarn products.

Burgess is a bona-fide outdoor enthusiast and can be found skiing, snowboarding and mountain biking. His recent adventures included hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail, camping in Glacier National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Blaisen Glacier in Norway. He’s now exploring the Appalachian Trail and Blue Ridge Mountains and has taken up trad and sport climbing.

Serine Steinnes has more than 25 years of experience working in the textiles industry, including sourcing direct from factory, and creating finished product for different global retail markets. At Cocona, Steinnes develops strategic partnerships with supply chain, leads new product development in the Home Textile product categories from bedding and towels to mattress ticking, collaborates with manufacturing partners to create cohesive product assortments, and provides support as an ambassador of 37.5 technology to both retail and hospitality partners.

Steinnes started her career as a buyer and store manager for an independent retailer as she was attending University in San Francisco, where she majored in Film and Broadcast Media. Steinnes gained her earliest manufacturing experience while working as Vice President of Sales with Pacific Coast Feather Company, where she was responsible for growing a Home brand from $6M to over $110M in retail dollars annually.

Before becoming a part of the 37.5 team, Steinnes focused on the growth of a startup company as the Chief Executive Officer, with a focus on marketing and selling brands, products, and inventions to worldwide traditional and Ecommerce retailers. Steinnes has also been a spokesperson for various Home and Apparel brands on global media.

Steinnes is an explorer, travel enthusiast, back country hiker, mountaineer, camper, and scuba diver. When she is not traveling, Steinnes loves relaxing at home in the woods where she works in the garden, and hikes the back trails with family and friends.

Tim Rogers started his career in apparel as a Men’s Sportswear buyer for a mid-sized retail chain in New England in 1979. After working in the retail sector for several years, he was recruited to be a regional sales representative for the Farah Pant Company where he began a 25-year career in the Men’s wholesale apparel industry. After many years as an independent sales rep he joined Cutter & Buck as an executive sales associate. He was promoted several times in his eight years with Cutter & Buck with his last position as National Sales Manager for the Sportswear Division managing 12 sales reps.

Perry Ellis then offered Rogers the position of Vice President of Sale for their expanding Outerwear Division, where his duties included managing the relationship with several major retailers such as Macy’s, JC Penney and Sears. Rogers was responsible for forecasting and managing the margin model and flow of product. Due to his deep sportswear background, Rogers was tapped to launch a new brand called Field Gear that was marketed to the same major retailers he managed when was VP of Outerwear. Over the next several years he and his Division President were recruited to launch several brands such as Born Sportswear, where he served as EVP.

At Cocona Rogers manages the relationship with the company’s Midwest and East Coast brands such as Carhartt, Bauer Hockey, Tailored Brands, Men’s Warehouse and Fechheimer, among others.

Rogers lives with his wife and dogs in Massachusetts where they enjoy traveling. He also enjoys running and golfing with his foursome of 20 years.

Dave Bywater has a lifetime of experience wearing and working with performance clothing—first as an accomplished climber and outdoorsman, and then in bringing advanced technologies to people in need of better gear through the textile industry.

Spending most of his life outside, Bywater grew up climbing in Utah and spent his summers as a kid in Yellowstone, Denali, and Grand Teton National Parks. Unable to stay out of the mountains, he ended up working 16 years as a Grand Teton National Park Ranger. As part of the elite Jenny Lake Climbing Rangers, he routinely performed life-saving helicopter short-haul operations as well as high-angle rock, ice, and snow rescues. For one of these actions, Bywater received the Department of Interior Valor Award for an extreme rescue on Mt. McKinley in Alaska. Working professionally outside has given him a unique perspective on what clothing works and what doesn’t when, quite literally, his life depended on it.

Bringing new and meaningful innovations to fabrics and clothing we all wear every day is what brought Bywater out of the mountains full-time and into the clothing industry. He has more than 10 years of experience in the high-performance garment and textile industry and was most recently Vice President of Government Sales at Massif. There he was instrumental in developing and securing the company’s most successful programs bringing innovative, high-performance, flame resistant clothing to military and government teams exposed to extreme environmental conditions and fire hazards.

Bywater studied Behavioral Science and Health and Emergency Medicine at the University of Utah. In his free time, he will be found climbing, biking, hiking, skiing, and fishing in the wild places he loves.

Carl Boni has over 25 years of experience in Product, Operations, and Finance. He leads the Cocona / 37.5 Operations, Finance, and Supply Chain Team. Throughout his career, Boni has combined his personal and professional interests by working in the Outdoor, Ski, and Cycling industries. His strengths lie in team building, strategic planning, and operational efficiency. Boni has helped lead transformation and performance improvement at many of his past companies, which include REI, Kelty, Descente Athletic and Spyder Active Sports.

A Colorado native, Boni lived in Seattle for five years before being lured back home by the weather. He and his family spend their free time outdoors skiing, camping, and bike racing. Boni and his wife also coach at junior mountain bike and cyclocross cycling camps.

Preston Brin has been in the advertising and marketing communications industry for more than a decade, working with some of the region’s most recognized ad agencies.

Although born in Kansas, Brin spent much of his childhood living in the Denver area. After graduating from the University of Kansas with degrees in Business Administration and Psychology, he began his career in the agency world. Working on the world’s largest agricultural brand, Cargill, Brin worked his way up the ranks to help lead one of the agency’s largest accounts.

Brin has spent the majority of his career navigating the retail environment. During his more than 6 years working on retail programs for Cargill, much of his focus was on developing effective point-of-sale materials and in-store promotions for the various brands he oversaw. After returning to the Denver area, Brin has worked for some of the leading agencies in both Denver and Boulder, doing work for local icons, state institutions, and global brands.

At Cocona, Brin works with our portfolio of brand partners on their marketing of our technologies, heads up the social and web presence, and assists the EVP of Marketing and Sales in growing the 37.5 Technology and Eco-Dri brands.

Brin enjoys spending his free time out in the Colorado wilderness hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, and camping.

Howie Ackerman is one of the preeminent textile engineers in the world. Ackerman invented polyester fleece apparel fabrics and ran the apparel fabrics division for more than three decades years at Polartec, formerly known as Malden Mills. Ackerman graduated from the Lowell Tech in 1962 with a BS in Textile Engineering. Ackerman gained experience in fabric finishing and knitting by working summers at Princeton Knitting Mills in Connecticut. He then started working at Malden, the day after graduating as a Research and Development Engineer in the high pile division. Ackerman became Research and Development manager of his division in 1963, and reconfigured the finishing department to incorporate continuous finishing. Ackerman won three Vogue Awards for fabric design during the 1960s. In 1973, Ackerman became Director of Research and Development for both the knitting and woven divisions. In 1979, he became Apparel Merchandise Manager out of the New York office, directing the Research and Development effort. Ackerman then became the General Manager of all Circular Knits in 1983.

This was the beginning of turning the corporation into a truly market oriented company. It was also the beginning of the Polartec evolution, in which it became a worldwide brand. At this point Ackerman was elevated to the position of Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 1995, and named a member to the Board of Directors. He helped expand the manufacturing to Europe in 1996 to produce Polartec. Ackerman retired from Malden in 1998 after 36 years. He is currently a fabric and textile specialist in R&D textile development at Cocona.

Alan Lekan has 25 years of technical fabric development, apparel ideation and comfort science testing. His base education is in chemical engineering with past positions at DuPont chemicals, Gore-Tex® Fabrics, Outlast Technologies and last at New Balance leading the division to incorporate sustainability in footwear products. At Gore, he was part of the “Comfort Science Team.”

Lekan’s primary role is to take inventions that Dr. Haggquist conceives to a fully commercial level. This involves a detailed project management process from fiber to fabric to product testing to the crafting the unique selling proposition to the market. He has developed in years past much of Cocona’s core offerings – from baselayer to merino blends to WPB laminates to insulation. Recently as the product champion for 37.5 bedding, Lekan and Dr. Haggquist had created a powerful, multi-level performance story for 37.5 bedding which brings deep scientific credibility in the sales process to the sleep market. He says 37.5 bedding is the most amazing product he has been a part of developing and believes it will truly change the way the world sleeps.

He is now using these skills to commercialize Cocona’s latest innovations in new markets like energy-efficient towels for hotels, more comfortable protective suits for medical workers and outdoor sleep systems. As an avid athlete as well as materials specialist, he believes in the importance of knowing the product thoroughly through field testing – whether cycling, backcountry skiing or mountaineering – as he always says, “lab tests only tell you so much.”

Devin Muldoon, attended Regis University where she received her B.S. in Psychology with a focus on neuroscience. After graduating from Regis, Muldoon began working at Cocona, as a lab intern. She currently holds the position of Lab Manager, Audit & Self-Certification Specialist, which involves overseeing the day to day activities of the lab as well as executing quality control processes to ensure all 37.5 fabrics meet the 37.5 brand promise.

Outside of work, Muldoon enjoys taking advantage of everything her native Colorado has to offer, which includes skiing, hiking, biking, camping, rock climbing and exploring with her flat-coated retriever Kona.

Lawrence Wang has 20 years’ experience in the Textile Industry, especially focused on functional fabrics and apparel. He is very strong on knitting fabrics, and has a great depth of knowledge in processes like knitting, dyeing and finishing. Lawrence also has rich experience in garment production. He has been working with Cocona / 37.5 since 2009. As Director of Cocona Asia, Lawrence helps the company and our certified mills solve production issues and get the best possible quality for our brand partners.

Mike Schweiger has more than 20 years of accounting and operational experience in successfully developing and implementing strategic financial & operational plans with strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Schweiger has a penchant for focusing on business solutions that drive results. With a hands-on “can-do” attitude, strong integrity, and work ethic, he has the energy and passion to drive client success. Schweiger brings a solid support base to entrepreneurial organizations and is responsive in fast moving operations.

When Schweiger is not at the office working, you can find him on a bike leading the way along one of the scenic routes in Colorado. He uses his passion for cycling to help make a difference to support our local charities. In the office and on the bike, Schweiger is always challenging us to keep pushing harder to lead our great organization to the next level.

Schweiger studied Computer Systems at Nova Southeastern University and Accounting at Florida Atlantic University.

Monica Shunk graduated from Western State Colorado University with a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Studies. During college, she worked as full-time veterinary technician, along with work-study at the campus library. At Cocona, Shunk assists in the laboratory and maintains our extensive library of 37.5 technology fabrics. She is also responsible for putting together fabric collections for fabric brands.

Originally from Boulder, Shunk has also lived in Gunnison, CO. She enjoys spending time in the mountains and foothills hiking with her dog.

Max is a shih tzu terrier. He might be small in stature, but he has a huge personality. We're lucky to have him assisting in the 37.5 technology lab. When Max is not hard at work in the lab, he enjoys long naps, modeling, and adventuring with his mom Erin.

Born on the streets of Texas, Kona quickly learned that Texas wasn’t the place for her so she packed up her toys and moved out to Colorado where she joined the 37.5 team. When at the office her skills include: greeting visitors, napping, and eating lots of treats. She hasn’t quite mastered the art of working, but we are in the process of training her. When Kona is not in the office, she enjoys chasing squirrels, going on hikes with her mom and going to the dog park.

Sarabi was born in 2011 during a freezing winter in Gunnison, CO. There, she graduated magna cum laude as a Canine Good Citizen. She has previously worked as an assistant veterinary technician. She joined the 37.5 Team in 2015 where she is known for her pouting, smiling, wiggling, and dejected sighing. Despite her hardy mountain upbringing, she is intolerant of the cold and dreams of retiring to a warmer climate. Her hobbies include ignoring other dogs at the dog park and napping in the sun.