Decathlon
French sporting goods retailer Decathlon has appointed Spanish executive Javier López as its new global CEO, succeeding Barbara Martin Coppola.
In his new role, Javier López will oversee team management, formulate sustainable growth strategies, and further strengthen Decathlon’s distinctive human-centered and inclusive culture. He will work closely with Chairman of the Board Julien Leclercq, son of founder Michel Leclercq, to advance the company’s global strategic development.
Julien Leclercq stated that Javier López is “a true Decathlon person,” whose extensive company experience and leadership will play a key role in the company’s next stage of growth.
Javier López has been with Decathlon for 26 years, during which he has held various leadership positions across digital, logistics, and retail operations. From 2012 to 2015, he led Decathlon Germany, and subsequently served as CEO of Decathlon Spain until 2022.
Cleveland Golf
Golf brand Cleveland Golf has announced the return of legendary designer and founder Roger Cleveland as a brand consultant. In this new role, he will collaborate with the tour and R&D teams, contributing ideas and insights into new products and design concepts.
Roger Cleveland, known as the “father of the modern wedge,” is a highly influential figure in golf club design. He founded Cleveland Classics Golf Company in 1979, initially focusing on producing replicas of vintage golf clubs. His first creation was a reproduction of Bobby Jones’s Calamity Jane putter. He later expanded the company’s product range to include persimmon woods, irons, and wedges, becoming a prominent leader in the global golf club industry. He previously served nearly 30 years as Chief Club Designer at Callaway.
In 1990, French company Rossignol acquired the brand and renamed it Cleveland Golf. In 2005, Australian sportswear brand Quiksilver, Inc. acquired all of Rossignol’s assets, later selling Cleveland Golf in 2007 to UK-based sporting goods manufacturer Dunlop Sport.
In 2016, Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber Industries acquired all issued shares of Dunlop Brands Limited, Dunlop Slazenger 1902 Limited, and Dunlop Australia Limited, as well as Dunlop Sports Group Americas, Inc. Today, Cleveland Golf is part of Sumitomo Rubber’s subsidiary SRI Sports Limited.
REI Co-op
REI Co-op, the largest specialty outdoor retailer in the United States, has appointed Vignesh Pratap as Vice President of Enterprise Systems.
Vignesh Pratap brings extensive experience in driving business transformation at retail and consumer electronics companies, which will support REI’s efforts to modernize its systems and business processes through the enterprise systems team.
Most recently, he served as Senior Director of Engineering in the global technology division at American sportswear giant Nike. He has also held positions at Starbucks, Infosys, and Oracle.
REI stated that the company is undertaking a multi-year journey to evolve its technological capabilities—“a critical step in better serving members and customers across retail channels, and in enabling co-op employees to work more effectively.”
｜Sources: Official press releases, SGB Media, AFP
｜Image Credit: Company websites, personal social media accounts
｜Editor: LeZhi
