Wolverine names Brendan Hoffman as new President
The omni-channel retail veteran is joining the Michigan-based company as part of the planned CEO succession transition. Hoffman is also joining Wolverine's Board of Directors
“Brendan is a very strong addition to the Wolverine Worldwide senior management team and his proven leadership and track record makes him the ideal person to become our next President and eventually lead Wolverine Worldwide into the next chapter of its journey”, commented Mr. Krueger, who has served as Wolverine’s CEO and President since 2007. The announcement is the result of a multi-year succession and search process: “I believe we currently have the strongest and deepest leadership team in the industry, and Brendan brings a valuable set of skills and experiences that will help our brands capitalize on the many opportunities that lie ahead. He brings a passion and strategic vision for consumer direct and omni-channel retail that is well-suited for the digital pivot and accelerated changes in consumer behaviour that are now taking place in the global marketplace.”
In his role as President, Hoffman will focus on driving growth across the company’s portfolio of lifestyle brands. The key leaders responsible for Wolverine Worldwide’s brands, digital execution, advanced concepts and innovation, consumer insights and merchandising will report to Hoffman, including Jim Zwiers, Chris Hufnagel, Joelle Grunberg, Tom Kennedy and Angelo Ng.
“I’m pleased and honoured to have been selected as Wolverine’s next President. I look forward to working with the company’s incredible team to build on the current momentum in the business and accelerate the growth of its brands in the new global environment", commented Hoffman.
In his role as President, Hoffman will focus on driving growth across the company’s portfolio of lifestyle brands. The key leaders responsible for Wolverine Worldwide’s brands, digital execution, advanced concepts and innovation, consumer insights and merchandising will report to Hoffman, including Jim Zwiers, Chris Hufnagel, Joelle Grunberg, Tom Kennedy and Angelo Ng.
“I’m pleased and honoured to have been selected as Wolverine’s next President. I look forward to working with the company’s incredible team to build on the current momentum in the business and accelerate the growth of its brands in the new global environment", commented Hoffman.
He brings 30 years of merchandising, digital marketing and omni-channel consumer direct experience from a variety of well-known brands and retailers. Most recently, Hoffman was CEO of Vince Holding Corp., a publicly traded global contemporary fashion brand. Prior to joining Vince in 2015, Hoffman was CEO and President of Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. and President and CEO of Lord & Taylor LLC. Earlier in his career, he was CEO and President of Neiman Marcus Direct, helping to grow Neimanmarcus.com and launching Bergdorfgoodman.com, Horchow.com and other branded websites that transformed Neiman Marcus and its affiliated companies into one of the first multi-channel retailers with a 500 million US dollars eCommerce business.
Hoffman holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Image credits: FashionNetwork.com