The footwear industry is filled with a range of leaders, from newcomers to the business to established execs. For a list footwear forces you should know, keep scrolling.
David Bensadoun, CEO of Aldo
Aldo is making moves. The Aldo Group has inked two long-term licensing deals with Authentic Brands Group. Last month, the company has signed a 10-year licensing agreement with Authentic to design, produce and distribute Ted Baker footwear globally as well as handbags across the U.S. and Canada.
Alexandre Birman, CEO of Arezzo & Co.
The shoe magnate founded Schutz at the age of 18 and merged with his father’s company to form Arezzo & Co. in 2007. In March, Arezzo & Co. reported full year gross sales of 5.2 billion reais (or $1.01 billion), up 42% from the prior year and a company record for gross revenue.
Kristina Blahnik, CEO of Manolo Blahnik
Former architect Kristina Blahnik joined her legendary uncle’s footwear business in 2009 as CEO.
Jared Carver, CEO of Converse
Jared Carver was promoted to the big office at Converse. Carver officially took on the president and CEO role on June 1, 2023, after 12 years with the brand. He most recently served as the VP/GM of North America at Converse.
Neil Clifford, CEO of Kurt Geiger
Kurt Geiger CEO Neil Clifford is bullish on America. The British powerhouse is focused on the market with a new strategy and mindset.
Hannah Colman, CEO of Jimmy Choo
The Capri Holdings-owned label named company veteran Hannah Colman as CEO in 2020. She joins creative director Sandra Choi at the top of the brand
Bracken Darrell, CEO of VF Corp.
VF Corp. announced last year that Steve Rendle would leave his position as chairman, president and CEO of VF Corporation. Rendle was a 25-year company veteran who served as CEO for 6 years. Benno Dorer, lead independent director of the VF board of directors, was named interim president and CEO. Effective last July, Bracken Darrell was tapped as CEO for the footwear giant, which owns Vans, The North Face, Timberland and Supreme.
Mary Dillon, CEO of Foot Locker
The former Ulta Beauty CEO Mary Dillon took on the position in September 2022.
John Donahoe, CEO of Nike
John Donahoe was appointed as the company’s new president and chief executive officer in 2020, succeeding Mark Parker.
Marc Fisher, CEO of Marc Fisher Footwear
Along with the Marc Fisher shoe brands, Marc Fisher Footwear — which obtained the license for Earth men’s and women’s footwear in June 2022 — quietly relaunched the brand, unveiling a new website showcasing updated branding and a spring ’23 product collection.
Arne Freundt, CEO of Puma
Puma’s supervisory board appointed 11-year company veteran Arne Freundt as CEO and chairman of the company’s management board on Jan. 1. Freundt’s contract is for four years.
Bianca Gates, CEO of Birdies
The San Francisco-based company was founded by Gates in 2015.
Bob Goldman, CEO of Chinese Laundry
Goldman founded Cels Enterprises (which operates Chinese laundry, 42 Gold, Dirty Laundry, CL by Laundry) in 1971 as a fixture maker and then launched shoes in 1973. The shoe veteran is marking 50 years in the industry this year.
Robert Greenberg, CEO of Skechers
Skechers has been led by CEO and chairman of the board Robert Greenberg since it was founded in 1993.
Bjørn Gulden, CEO of Adidas
Adidas announced in August that CEO Kasper Rorsted would step down. In November, Adidas confirmed that former Puma chief Bjørn Gulden would step in to serve as its new CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2023.
Martin Hoffmann & Marc Maurer, Co-CEOs of On
Martin Hoffmann has served as the chief financial officer and co-chief executive Officer of On since January 2021. Hoffmann joined On in July 2013 and has served as the CFO since joining the Company. Maurer, meanwhile, joined On in March 2013 and served as the chief operating officer since joining the Company as well as co-CEO since January 2021.
Christopher Hufnagel, CEO of Wolverine Worldwide
Christopher Hufnagel, formerly president of the company, was appointed as president and CEO of Wolverine Worldwide in August after Brendan Hoffman’s sudden exit. Hoffman, who joined Wolverine Worldwide in 2020 from Vince and took the helm as president and CEO at the beginning of 2022. The footwear company terminated Hoffman without cause, effective Aug. 6. The departure was not a result of a disagreement with the company’s policies or operations. Wolverine would not share details behind the sudden leadership change.
David Kahan, CEO of Birkenstock Americas
Birkenstock Americas named industry veteran David Kahan CEO in 2013.
Koichiro Kodama, CEO of Asics North America
Japanese athletic company Asics tapped a familiar face as its president and CEO of North America. In October, 2023, it appointed Koichiro Kodama to the role, which he previously held from February 2019 to December 2020. (Since January 2021, he’s been the managing executive officer based in Asics’ headquarters in Kobe, Japan.)
Eugenio Manghi, CEO of Giuseppe Zanotti
Eugenio Manghi took on the role in 2019.
Jenny Ming, CEO of Rothy’s
Rothy’s formed a new management team in January to support ambitious growth initiatives, tapping retail veteran Jenny Ming as chief executive officer and promoting Dayna Quanbeck to president. With those changes, Rothy’s cofounders Stephen Hawthornthwaite and Roth Martin are stepping down from their roles as CEO and president, respectively, but Hawthornthwaite continues as chairman of the board, advising on key strategies, while Martin continues as chief creative and innovation officer, focusing on product innovation. Hawthornthwaite co-founded the label alongside Martin in 2015 with washable shoes made out of discarded plastic bottles and created through a 3D-knitting process that uses the exact amount of material needed.
Liel Miranda, CEO of Alpargatas S.A.
Alpargatas S.A., the Brazilian footwear company behind Havaianas, named Liel Miranda as its CEO in February. According to the company, Miranda succeeded interim CEO Luiz Fernando Edmond, who will continue to serve as a member of Alpargatas’ board of directors after the transition.
Enrico Mistron, CEO of Geox
Mistron is joining the publicly listed footwear player in the CEO role, replacing Livio Libralesso who stayed at the helm for four years.
Silvia Merati, CEO Americas, Golden Goose
In the 12 months ended Dec. 31, the Italian company saw its revenues climb 30% to 500.9 million euros, compared with 385.6 million euros in 2021. Compared with 2020, sales soared 88%.
Joe Ouaknine, CEO of Titan Industries
Ouaknine has built one of the industry’s most notable shoe businesses. His brand roster now includes Badgley Mischka, L’Agence, Daniel x Diamond and Dee Ocleppo. (Ouaknine has worked with many celebrities over the years and launched Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. collection and Daya by Zendaya.)
Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour
In March, the company announced that current CEO Stephanie Linnartz would be stepping down as president, chief executive officer and a member of the board and will be succeeded by Under Armour’s founder, effective April 1. After a 25-year career at Marriott International Inc., Linnartz took the helm at Under Armour last February as the company’s first woman CEO. Plank founded Under Armour in 1996 and served as its CEO and chairman of the board until January 2020, when he was appointed executive chair and brand chief.
Dave Powers, CEO of Deckers Brands
Powers has his own long history with the company, having joined in 2012 to lead its DTC and omnichannel strategies, before taking the helm as CEO in 2016. Under his leadership, the business is red hot — thanks to Ugg’s consistent winning streak and Hoka’s massive gains. However, it was announced that Powers will retire on Aug. 1. According to Deckers, Powers is expected to continue serving as a member of the company’s board of directors through the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders. Stefano Caroti, the company’s chief commercial officer, will take over for Powers upon his retirement.
Joe Preston, CEO of New Balance
The executive, who has been with the company for 28 years, has helped the business grow from $100,000 in sales in 1972 to $4.4 billion as of 2022.
Andrew Rees, CEO of Crocs
In 2014, Andrew Rees joined as president, later to rise to CEO in 2017.
Ed Rosenfeld, CEO of Steve Madden
Edward Rosenfeld has been Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Steven Madden since 2008.
Giorgio Sarné, CEO of Stuart Weitzman
Tapestry Inc. has named Sarné CEO and brand president for its Stuart Weitzman brand in 2020.
Jay Schmidt, CEO of Caleres
In July 2022, Caleres announced that Diane Sullivan would transition from CEO to the executive chairman role on Jan. 15, 2023, with Jay Schmidt taking the reins as CEO.
Dan Sheridan, CEO of Brooks Running
On March 12, Brooks announced that Jim Weber was stepping down as CEO after 23 years. Dan Sheridan, currently the Brooks president and chief operating officer, will assume the CEO role on April 26. Weber sits atop one of the fastest-growing footwear brands in the U.S. But the journey to get there was anything but linear. Upon joining Brooks in 2001, Weber oversaw a vast turnaround plan for the company that had previously been on the brink of bankruptcy.
Joe Vernachio, CEO of Allbirds
Amid a turnaround plan, Allbirds had made another big C-suite change in March. Allbirds co-founder and chief executive officer Joey Zwillinger stepped down as the company elevates chief operating officer Joe Vernachio to the CEO role and adds him to the board of directors. Zwillinger, who went from Allbirds’ co-CEO to sole CEO last May, will remain with the company as a member of the board of directors and special advisor.
Kenny Wilson, CEO of Dr. Martens
This month, Dr. Martens is marked a new milestone – reaching 1 billion British pounds ($1.25 billion, based on current exchange) in annual revenue for the first time. CEO Kenny Wilson said in a statement that reaching this milestone is “testament to the strength” of the brand, the long-standing “DOCS” strategy and the hard work and dedication of its employees globally.
