Deckers Brands
Deckers Brands, the American outdoor apparel group and parent company of brands including UGG and HOKA, has announced the appointment of Felix Muennich as Senior Vice President and General Manager for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region.
Prior to joining Deckers Brands, Felix Muennich served as Chief Commercial Officer at Mammut Sports Group. He previously spent ten years at Nike, where he held positions such as General Manager for Nike Greece, Israel, and the EMEA region, as well as Vice President and General Manager of Nike Direct. Earlier in his career, he was also Head of Strategic Planning at the British sportswear brand Umbro.
Vuori
American performance apparel brand Vuori has announced two new executive appointments:
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Ashley Kechter has been named Global President, responsible for overseeing brand management across all markets and channels;
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Edward Lee has been appointed Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, tasked with supporting the brand’s expansion both in the United States and internationally.
Ashley Kechter was previously Global Brand President at digital activewear brand Fabletics. She brings over two decades of experience in marketing, product innovation, planning, sourcing, and strategic operations. Much of her career was spent at U.S. fashion conglomerate Gap Inc., where she held director-level roles across merchandising, store planning, and human resources for the Gap brand. She also led menswear merchandising for Old Navy and served as Chief Commercial Officer and General Manager for Banana Republic. Additionally, she held the role of Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager at U.S. luxury home furnishings brand Restoration Hardware.
Edward Lee spent thirteen years as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Restoration Hardware and previously served as Deputy General Counsel at MGM Resorts International.
Joe Kudla, Founder and CEO of Vuori, stated: “This year marks an important ten-year milestone for us. Looking ahead, I am confident in our ability to drive sustained growth as we thoughtfully expand Vuori’s reach and foster deeper connections with consumers around the world. Ashley and Ed are exceptionally equipped to help Vuori achieve this vision, and I’m excited to see how their deep expertise and leadership will help propel the brand forward.”
HEAD
HEAD Group, parent company of Austrian sports brand HEAD, has announced that Jon Rucker, President of its HEAD and Tyrolia Winter Sports brands, officially left the company on June 27.
Jon Rucker had been with the group for 15 years and was appointed President of the two brands in 2019.
In an official statement, HEAD said: “Jon demonstrated outstanding strategic vision and unwavering commitment during his tenure, leaving a lasting impact on the company. HEAD will now implement a new leadership structure building upon the strong foundation Jon has established.”
Under the new structure, Andrew Couperthwait has been appointed Vice President of Winter Sports Product and Marketing. Couperthwait joined the group in 2009 and previously served as Winter Sports Product Manager and Senior Business Manager. Meanwhile, Rob Mignon will continue as Vice President of Winter Sports Sales.
Wolverine Worldwide
Wolverine World Wide, Inc., the U.S. multi-brand footwear group and parent company of outdoor performance brands including Merrell, Saucony, and Sweaty Betty, has announced two new additions to its Board of Directors: current CEO of Tommy John, Cheryl Abel-Hodges, and former Chief Merchandising Officer of Fanatics, Jack Boyle. Both appointments took effect on July 1.
Cheryl Abel-Hodges has served as CEO of lifestyle brand Tommy John since 2023. Previously, she was CEO of PVH Corp.’s Calvin Klein brand, and held several executive roles within the group, including President of Calvin Klein North America and President of The Underwear Group. She also serves on the Board of Directors of office furniture manufacturer Haworth.
Jack Boyle recently retired from Fanatics, the global sports merchandise retail giant, where he was President of Global Merchandising and North America. Before joining Fanatics, Boyle held various merchandising leadership roles at Kohl’s Corporation and spent a decade in merchandising at Famous-Barr, part of The May Department Stores Company. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Destination XL Group, a U.S. retailer specializing in big and tall men’s apparel.
Tom Long, Chairman of the Board at Wolverine Worldwide, commented: “We are thrilled to welcome Cheryl and Jack to the board. Their extensive experience in merchandising, brand management, and omnichannel retail—as well as their track records of leading brands through high-growth phases—will make them valuable assets to our board and company. Their insights into team-building and consumer engagement will greatly contribute to our future success.”
Nike
Ron Faris, former Vice President and General Manager of Nike Virtual Studios, has announced via his personal LinkedIn account that he has left Nike to join Disney Consumer Products as Vice President of Global Marketing.
Ron Faris was the founder and CEO of New York-based digital design studio Virgin MEGA, which was acquired by Nike in 2016. Following the acquisition, he joined Nike as Vice President of Digital Product for SNKRS and General Manager of the s23NYC digital studio.
From November 2020 to June 2025, he served as Global Vice President for SNKRS, NBHD, and s23NYC digital studio. Starting in March 2022, he also led Nike Virtual Studios.
K-Way
French outdoor apparel brand K-Way has appointed Marco D’Avanzo as Chief International Commercial Officer.
A specialist in the outerwear sector, Marco D’Avanzo previously spent nearly nine years at Canadian luxury outerwear brand Moose Knuckles, serving as Senior Vice President of Global Sales.
Earlier in his career, he held roles including Sales Director at American premium outdoor brand Woolrich, EMEA Denim Sales Manager at the European division of American fashion brand Guess, and Regional Sales Manager at Italian luxury brand Versace. He began his career at Italian fashion group Benetton.
| Source: Official press release from Wolverine Worldwide, FashionNetwork, SGB Media, The Retail Bulletin, NSGA
| Image Credit: Official brand websites and executive LinkedIn profiles
| Editor: LeZhi
