Black Diamond Prepares for Continued Growth With New Hires

SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 4, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Diamond, Inc. (Nasdaq:BDE) (the "Company" or "Black Diamond"), a leading provider of outdoor recreation equipment and active lifestyle products, has welcomed seven new senior level positions to its team, reflecting the Company's continued expansion of its operational platform. The new hires include external recruitment and internal promotions for three existing roles as well as the creation of four new positions.

"We are thrilled to have added these strong industry players to bolster our global management team," said Peter Metcalf, President and CEO of Black Diamond. "This hiring process was a coordinated effort to invest in specific areas of our business where we see significant growth opportunities going forward."

"These investments support our objectives to grow the European and direct-to-consumer sales channels, and strengthen our internal retail capabilities," continued Metcalf. "As previously disclosed, we have targeted $500 million of annual revenue by 2015 and in order to achieve this target, we will continue to build the most skilled and experienced team in the industry to help propel our Company to its next stage of development."

Over the last few months, the Company has added or promoted the following executives to its global management team (listed alphabetically):

Brad Barlage has been promoted to the newly created position of Black Diamond Climbing Line Sales Manager. Barlage will use his experience as a Black Diamond Equipment sales representative of more than 12 years to manage the climbing category business across North America.

Laura Fryer has accepted the new position of Director of Marketing for Black Diamond Equipment's Salt Lake City-based marketing team. Fryer brings more than five years experience as Marketing Manager at La Sportiva North America and will focus on all aspects of marketing planning from strategy to outgoing tactics. She will report to Black Diamond's Vice President of Marketing, Adam Chamberlain.

Ryan Gellert has been promoted internally to the new position of Vice President of Supply Chain. Gellert has served at Black Diamond for more than 10 years and was responsible for the creation of Black Diamond Asia, where he resided for more than four years.

Bob Jones has joined the sales team in the newly created position of Direct-To-Consumer Sales Director. Jones will oversee all non-wholesale sales functions, which includes Black Diamond Mail Order, Pro Purchase and the Retail Store. He will report to Vice President of Sales, Chris Grover. Bob recently served at Orvis as Senior Manager of Web Merchandising.

Linda Karz will serve as the new Black Diamond Retail Store Manager. Karz will report to Bob Jones and will be responsible for establishing the Black Diamond retail store as the leading climbing & freeride ski specialty outdoor shop in Salt Lake City. Prior to joining Black Diamond, Karz worked for White Pine Nordic Center and White Pine Touring.

Rosalie Mark has been promoted to Vice President of Human Resources. For the past 11 months, Mark served as Black Diamond's Senior Director of Human Resources, having been recruited out of Florida where she was the City of Miami's Human Resource Director.

Saskia Stock has joined Black Diamond as the Marketing Director for Europe. Stock most recently served as Managing Director for Somnio Europe and previously spent 13 years at Cannondale Europe BV where she was Vice President of European Marketing.

About Black Diamond, Inc.

Black Diamond, Inc. (Nasdaq:BDE) is a leading provider of outdoor recreation equipment and active lifestyle products under the principal brands of Black Diamond® and Gregory®. The Company develops, manufactures and globally distributes a broad range of products including: rock-climbing equipment (such as carabiners, protection devices, harnesses, belay and devices, helmets and ice-climbing gear), technical backpacks and high-end day packs, tents, trekking poles, headlamps and lanterns, gloves and mittens, skis, ski bindings, ski boots, ski skins and avalanche safety equipment. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Company has more than 500 employees worldwide, with ISO 9001 manufacturing facilities both in Salt Lake City and Southeast China as well as a sewing plant in Calexico, California; distribution centers in Utah and Southeast China; a marketing office in Yokohama, Japan; and a fully owned sales, marketing and distribution operation for Europe, located near Basel, Switzerland. For more information about the Company, visit www.blackdiamond-inc.com, www.blackdiamondequipment.com, or www.gregorypacks.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are made based on our expectations and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks and uncertainties. We caution that forward-looking statements are not guarantees and that actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results of operations or financial condition of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements in this release include the overall level of consumer spending on our products; general economic conditions and other factors affecting consumer confidence; disruption and volatility in the global capital and credit markets; the financial strength of the Company's customers; the Company's ability to implement its growth strategy; the Company's ability to successfully integrate and grow acquisitions; the Company's ability to maintain the strength and security of its information technology systems; stability of the Company's manufacturing facilities and foreign suppliers; the Company's ability to protect trademarks and other intellectual property rights; fluctuations in the price, availability and quality of raw materials and contracted products; foreign currency fluctuations; our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards; and legal, regulatory, political and economic risks in international markets. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results is included from time to time in the Company's public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K.

CONTACT: Company Contact:
         Warren B. Kanders
         Executive Chairman
         Tel 203-428-2000
         warren.kanders@bdel.com
         or
         Peter Metcalf
         Chief Executive Officer
         Tel 801-278-5552
         peter.metcalf@bdel.com

         Investor Relations:
         Liolios Group, Inc.
         Scott Liolios or Cody Slach
         Tel 949-574-3860
         BDE@liolios.com

Released August 4, 2011