Chris Hufnagel named Company President and
Key Brand Leaders appointed to Support Global Brand-building
Strategy
Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW), which operates one of
the world’s largest portfolios of lifestyle and footwear brands,
announced today several senior leadership appointments to help
drive future growth and accelerate its global brand-building
efforts. These leadership appointments are the next step in the
evolution of the Company and build on the strategic transformation
work initiated last year.
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the full release here:
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New Leadership Appointments: Chris
Hufnagel, Janice Tennant, and Rob Griffiths (Photo: Business
Wire)
The Company is naming Chris Hufnagel President of Wolverine
Worldwide, responsible for leading and driving strategy across the
Company’s portfolio of footwear brands, along with leading its
consumer marketing and insights teams.
Mr. Hufnagel’s 14-year career with the Company has included
serving as Global Brand President of CAT Footwear, Global Brand
President of Merrell, and most recently as President of the
Company’s Active Group, with responsibility for Merrell, Saucony,
Chaco, Kids Group, and Global Licensing. In earlier roles at
Wolverine Worldwide, he was President of Direct-to-Consumer and
Corporate Senior Vice President and Head of Strategy. Prior to
joining the Company, Mr. Hufnagel held senior leadership roles at
Under Armour, Gap, and Abercrombie & Fitch. As the Company’s
President, Mr. Hufnagel will continue to report to Brendan Hoffman,
Wolverine Worldwide’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Our strategy for long-term growth includes building stronger
brands that resonate more meaningfully with our consumers around
the globe,” said Mr. Hoffman. “Chris’ diverse and broad experience
as the leader of our largest global brands make him the best choice
to lead the implementation of this strategy across our entire
footwear brand portfolio as President and take a broader leadership
role at the Company.”
“I’m thrilled to become Wolverine Worldwide’s next President,”
said Mr. Hufnagel. “I look forward to working with our incredible
team across our amazing portfolio of brands to drive sustainable
growth for the Company – leading with product innovation and
building even stronger connections with our consumers around the
world.”
Wolverine Worldwide also announced two key brand leadership
appointments – these include promoting Janice Tennant to serve as
Global Brand President of Merrell and promoting Rob Griffiths to
serve as Global Brand President of Saucony.
Ms. Tennant has served as Chief Marketing Officer of Merrell
since 2020, after joining the Company as Chief Marketing Officer of
CAT Footwear in 2018. She has received a number of industry awards,
including most recently being named to Forbes Magazine’s “2023
Entrepreneurial CMOs 50” list. Before joining the Company, Ms.
Tennant held a series of senior marketing and other roles with
Kimberly-Clark and PepsiCo. She will report to Mr. Hufnagel.
Mr. Griffiths has served Wolverine Worldwide as Managing
Director of EMEA since 2021, responsible for leading the Company’s
commercial operations in this key region. In earlier roles, he
served as Vice President and General Manager of Merrell in EMEA and
Vice President and General Manager of Lifestyle Brands in EMEA.
Prior to joining Wolverine Worldwide in 2013, Mr. Griffiths spent
15 years with global brands Esprit and Umbro. He will report to Mr.
Hufnagel.
“Merrell and Saucony are two of the brands we believe have the
largest global growth potential within the portfolio, and we intend
to focus our efforts and investments on these key brands,” said Mr.
Hoffman. “I’m extremely excited to promote Janice and Rob, and I am
confident these strong, experienced leaders will help drive our
global strategy and position Wolverine Worldwide for long-term
success.”
ABOUT WOLVERINE WORLDWIDE
Founded in 1883 on the belief in the possibility of opportunity,
Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW) is one of the world’s leading
marketers and licensors of branded casual, active lifestyle, work,
outdoor sport, athletic, children's and uniform footwear and
apparel. Through a diverse portfolio of highly recognized brands,
our products are designed to empower, engage and inspire our
consumers every step of the way. The Company’s portfolio includes
Merrell®, Saucony®, Sperry®, Sweaty Betty®, Hush Puppies®,
Wolverine®, Chaco®, Bates®, HYTEST®, and Stride Rite®. Wolverine
Worldwide is also the global footwear licensee of the popular
brands Cat® and Harley-Davidson®. Based in Rockford, Michigan, for
140 years, the Company's products are carried by leading retailers
in the U.S. and globally in approximately 170 countries and
territories. For additional information, please visit our website,
www.wolverineworldwide.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements,
including statements regarding the Company’s expectations with
respect to: the Company's growth, global brand-building strategies
and long-term success; and the Company’s intention to focus efforts
and investments on key brands with the largest growth potential. In
addition, words such as “estimates,” “anticipates,” “believes,”
“forecasts,” “step,” “plans,” “predicts,” “focused,” “projects,”
“outlook,” “is likely,” “expects,” “intends,” “should,” “will,”
“confident,” variations of such words, and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements
are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks,
uncertainties, and assumptions (“Risk Factors”) that are difficult
to predict with regard to timing, extent, likelihood, and degree of
occurrence. Risk Factors include, among others: the risk that the
Company will be able to successfully implement its growth and
profit improvement strategies; the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
or other health crises and containment efforts on the Company’s
business, operations, financial results and liquidity, including
the duration and magnitude of such effects; changes in general
economic conditions, employment rates, business conditions,
interest rates, tax policies, inflationary pressures and other
factors affecting consumer spending in the markets and regions in
which the Company’s products are sold; the inability for any reason
to effectively compete in global footwear, apparel and
direct-to-consumer markets; the inability to maintain positive
brand images and anticipate, understand and respond to changing
footwear and apparel trends and consumer preferences; the inability
to effectively manage inventory levels; increases or changes in
duties, tariffs, quotas or applicable assessments in countries of
import and export; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations;
currency restrictions; supply chain or other capacity constraints,
production disruptions, quality issues, price increases or other
risks associated with foreign sourcing; the cost and availability
of raw materials, inventories, services and labor for contract
manufacturers; labor disruptions; changes in relationships with,
including the loss of, significant wholesale customers; risks
related to the significant investment in, and performance of, the
Company’s consumer-direct operations; risks related to expansion
into new markets and complementary product categories; the impact
of seasonality and unpredictable weather conditions; changes in
general economic conditions and/or the credit markets on the
Company’s distributors, suppliers and retailers; increases in the
Company’s effective tax rates; failure of licensees or distributors
to meet planned annual sales goals or to make timely payments to
the Company; the risks of doing business in developing countries,
and politically or economically volatile areas; the ability to
secure and protect owned intellectual property or use licensed
intellectual property; the impact of regulation, regulatory and
legal proceedings and legal compliance risks, including compliance
with federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the
protection of the environment, environmental remediation and other
related costs, and litigation or other legal proceedings relating
to the protection of the environment or environmental effects on
human health; the potential breach of the Company’s databases or
other systems, or those of its vendors, which contain certain
personal information, payment card data or proprietary information,
due to cyberattack or other similar events; problems affecting the
Company’s supply chain or distribution system, including service
interruptions at shipping and receiving ports; strategic actions,
including new initiatives and ventures, acquisitions and
dispositions, and the Company’s success in integrating acquired
businesses, and implementing new initiatives and ventures; the risk
of impairment to goodwill and other intangibles; changes in future
pension funding requirements and pension expenses; and additional
factors discussed in the Company’s reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission and exhibits thereto. The
foregoing Risk Factors, as well as other existing Risk Factors and
new Risk Factors that emerge from time to time, may cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statements. Given these or other risks and
uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.
Furthermore, the Company undertakes no obligation to update, amend,
or clarify forward-looking statements.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230531005280/en/
Dave Latchana, (616) 863-4226
Wolverine World Wide (NYSE:WWW)
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