Pentland Brands announced on Wednesday a pivotal change in its executive team — with Joe Spies set to become president of Americas.
This announcement comes as Matt Rock, the current president of Americas, steps down after a 19-year tenure with the company, which owns Speedo, Ellesse and other brands. The leadership transition is effective as of this month.
Rock’s career with Pentland Brands began in 2005 when he joined as sales director for Ted Baker footwear, later advancing to managing director of the brand. His journey saw him taking on the role of global supply chain director in 2015 and then president of Asia Pacific in 2018, where he led global supply chain and regional commercial teams. In 2022, Rock undertook the responsibility of integrating the Speedo North America business into Pentland Brands’ global operations and selecting a local leader for the Americas division.
“Renowned for his warm and affable nature, Matt leaves an indelible mark on the company’s culture, fostering strong and lasting relationships not only within his teams and colleagues but also with vendors, partners and retail customers,” the company said in a press release.
Spies, who joined the company earlier this year as senior vice president of sales for Pentland Brands North America, brings over 17 years of experience from his tenure at Converse, including his last role as vice president of wholesale for North America. At his time at Converse, Spies also held roles as senior director of sales, director of sales, senior director of North American merchandising, global business director of footwear and senior manager of strategic planning.
“We’re incredibly grateful for Matt’s leadership, dedication and contributions to Pentland Brands over the years,” Chirag Patel, chief executive officer at Pentland Brands, said in a statement. “As we bid farewell to Matt, we also look forward to the energy, vision and leadership Joe Spies will bring as we move into a new phase of innovation and growth for our brands across the Americas region.”
This move comes after the company announced an operational restructure in August, including plans to put a bigger focus on product, digital, consumer data and analytics.
Pentland said at the time that it aimed to create a structure “that reflects the global and digital nature” of the organization, resulting in plans to lay off around 90 people. At the same time, the British sports, clothing and footwear group also announced that its plans to set up a creative hub in Farringdon in north London.
“Our plans will accelerate this growth, and position us at the forefront of digital innovation and consumer engagement at a moment when our brands are more important than ever in helping people to live more active and healthy lives,” Patel said in August.
Along with Speedo and Ellesse, Pentland Brands Limited is also the parent company of a variety of sports, outdoor and lifestyle brands, including Berghaus, Canterbury of New Zealand, Endura and Mitre. It’s the UK licensee for Kickers and has a joint venture partnership for Lacoste footwear. It is also the majority owner of the British retailer JD Sports Fashion plc, which is quickly expanding in the U.S. market.
