Professional skincare brand Babor has appointed Mark Wuttke as president and chief operating officer to the North American Executive Leadership Team. Wuttke will focus his expertise on strengthening the brand’s positioning within the spa marketplace.

“Mark will help us further nurture growth, as he works alongside the global leaders of our businesses leveraging his strategic skills and sharing his deep knowledge of the market.” said Michael Schummert, global CEO of Babor.

In welcoming Wuttke to Babor, Schummert emphasised Babor’s commitment to its partners in the spa and wellness community, and to incubating new distribution channels in the North American market.

Wuttke joins Babor North America with substantial expertise in the spa and skincare industry. A native of Australia, he is known for his high profile work in spa, wellness, and skincare. Among his other professional accomplishments, Wuttke is credited with successfully introducing the skincare brand Jurlique in Asia and North America. He will report to Schummert.

A subsidiary of Dr. Babor GmbH & Co. KG in Aachen, Germany, Babor North America is continuing to expand in USA and Canada.

“North America is one of our most important and most dynamic markets – falling just behind our home market in Germany,” said Schummert.

In 2015 the company moved its US base to new headquarters in Delray Beach, Florida. The expansive 12,000sq ft (1,115sq m) headquarters houses executive offices, customer service, training and an education academy, as well as a state-of-the-art distribution centre. Babor North America services spa businesses in destination, hotel and premium day spas in Canada, the US and the Caribbean.

Babor also recently named Tracie Kearney as managing director for Babor UK and Ireland.