by Tyler Hale
An interim CEO has been named to take the helm of Allied Cycle Works, a Bentonville-based manufacturer of high-performance carbon bicycles.
Brendan Quirk was named the interim CEO for the company on Aug. 29. According to Krista Cupp, the communications director for the Runway Group, he is expected to be named the permanent CEO in 100 days.
Quirk is succeeding Sam Pickman as Allied’s CEO. Pickman became the company’s CEO in February 2019, and he is returning to his previous position as Chief Product Officer.
Before joining Allied, Quirk was the cycling program director for Runway Group, a company created by Tom and Steuart Walton to develop and implement quality-of-life initiatives in Northwest Arkansas. According to the company’s Facebook page, Runway Group aims to gain national recognition for Northwest Arkansas as a top metro area in the United States by creating a “healthy, outdoor-focused lifestyle,” “building world-class downtown environments with unique cultural scenes; “offering mobility opportunities beyond automobiles;” and “supporting bold civic and community leaders…”
Quirk previously was the president of North America for the London-based cycling company Rapha, which the Walton brothers acquired a majority stake in during August 2017. He also was the CEO and co-founder of Competitive Cyclist.
According to Quirk, the use of the company’s Able gravel frameset at the Dirty Kanza 200 event is evidence that Allied and the high-performance bicycle market is on the rise.
“The success of the Able proves that our foundation is in place,” Quirk said in a statement. “The market is responding, the momentum is tangible, and I’m excited to be part of the future here.”
According to the company’s website, there are currently 36 Allied dealers in the United States. Of that total, there are three dealers in Arkansas. Two of those locations are the Allied headquarters in Bentonville and the Allied factory in Little Rock, while the third location is the Meteor, a coffee and bike shop located in Little Rock.
“Being a start-up is an uphill battle,” Quirk said in a statement. “But in the last few months, Allied has really broken through.”
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