• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, February 12, 2025

There are more new faces at Wolverine Worldwide as the company continues to look for a path to transformation. The company named Richard McLeod, formerly CMO at Champion, as the new CMO of Merrell, a hiking brand struggling to find its footing after plummeting sales. Pallav Tamasker formerly held that role.

McLeod’s appointment follows the recent addition of Noreen Naroo-Pucci as chief product officer from a similar post at Mizzen + Main. She also worked at Calvin Klein and Under Armour.

Both executives report to Janice Tennant, Merrell's global brand president.

McLeod also held key marketing roles at Canada Goose.

McLeod "is widely recognized as a consumer-obsessed leader and builder of talent with a track record of growing brands through strong consumer demand creation and retail execution," says Tennant in the announcement. "Rich's depth of experience will help position Merrell for long-term growth."

Separately, Wolverine named Brett Parent, vice president of strategy, as its first chief strategy officer, responsible for developing and driving enterprise strategy and assessing growth opportunities.

There are early signs that Wolverine, based in Rockford, Michigan, is gaining traction with turnaround efforts. The company is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results later this month. In the third quarter, the company announced sales and profits ahead of expectations. Revenue from ongoing operations fell 7% to $440.2 million. (That excludes the impact of the sale of Keds, Sperry and the leather business.)

Sales at Merrell rose 1.4% to $159.2 million, following several quarters of double-digit declines. Saucony’s sales sank 10% to $104.8 million, which is also an improvement. Sales in the workwear division fell, while Sweaty Betty notched a 6% gain.

Wolverine also boosted the forecast for the full year, anticipating revenue between $1.73 billion and $1.75 billion, representing a slightly smaller decline of between 13.1% and 12.4%.

Merrell products are widely distributed in sporting goods stores, and the company also operates 49 stores in 28 states.

In the announcement, Chris Hufnagel, president and CEO of Wolverine Worldwide, said the improving results are proof points that the turnaround is underway. “We’re moving forward with a stronger platform for growth – a rationalized portfolio of authentic brands positioned in attractive categories, a much healthier balance sheet with our restructuring and stabilization efforts largely behind us, and finally, a talented, aligned, and motivated team driving the business each day.”

While investors are encouraged by the company’s progress, experts note reversing declines won’t be easy.

Analyst Jonathan Komp, who tracks the company for Baird, expects results to fall below expectations due to the “challenging U.S. footwear industry indicators and outdoor category headwinds.”