Wolverine Worldwide makes three new leadership appointments

Wolverine Worldwide, which operates one of the world’s largest portfolios of lifestyle and footwear brands, has announced several senior leadership appointments to help drive future growth and accelerate its global brand-building efforts. 

The company is naming Chris Hufnagel president of Wolverine Worldwide, responsible for leading and driving strategy across the company’s portfolio of footwear brands, along with leading its consumer marketing and insights teams.

Hufnagel’s 14-year career with the company has included serving as global brand president of CAT Footwear, global brand president of Merrell, and most recently as president of the company’s active group, with responsibility for Merrell, Saucony, Chaco, Kids Group, and Global Licensing. 

In earlier roles at Wolverine Worldwide, he was president of direct-to-consumer and corporate senior vice president and head of strategy. Prior to joining the company, Hufnagel held senior leadership roles at Under Armour, Gap, and Abercrombie and Fitch. As the company’s president, Hufnagel will continue to report to Brendan Hoffman, Wolverine Worldwide’s chief executive officer.

Hoffman said: “Our strategy for long-term growth includes building stronger brands that resonate more meaningfully with our consumers around the globe. Chris’ diverse and broad experience as the leader of our largest global brands make him the best choice to lead the implementation of this strategy across our entire footwear brand portfolio as President and take a broader leadership role at the company.”

Regarding his appointment, Hufnagel said: “I’m thrilled to become Wolverine Worldwide’s next President. I look forward to working with our incredible team across our amazing portfolio of brands to drive sustainable growth for the company – leading with product innovation and building even stronger connections with our consumers around the world.”

Wolverine Worldwide also announced two key brand leadership appointments, promoting Janice Tennant to serve as global brand president of Merrell and promoting Rob Griffiths to serve as global brand president of Saucony.

Tennant has served as chief marketing officer of Merrell since 2020, after joining the company as chief marketing officer of CAT Footwear in 2018. She has received a number of industry awards, including most recently being named to Forbes Magazine’s “2023 Entrepreneurial CMOs 50” list. Before joining the company, Tennant held a series of senior marketing and other roles with Kimberly-Clark and PepsiCo.

Griffiths has served Wolverine Worldwide as managing director of EMEA since 2021, responsible for leading the company’s commercial operations in this key region. In earlier roles, he served as vice president and general manager of Merrell in EMEA and vice president and general manager of lifestyle brands in EMEA. Prior to joining Wolverine Worldwide in 2013, Griffiths spent 15 years with global brands Esprit and Umbro. 

Hoffman said: “Merrell and Saucony are two of the brands we believe have the largest global growth potential within the portfolio, and we intend to focus our efforts and investments on these key brands. I’m extremely excited to promote Janice and Rob, and I am confident these strong, experienced leaders will help drive our global strategy and position Wolverine Worldwide for long-term success.”