Shoe Carnival Inc. on Wednesday announced several executive appointments to support its ongoing customer-centric business transformation and to create a management structure aligned with the company’s long-term strategic plan.
Cliff Sifford, in addition to continuing to serve as CEO, also assumed the role of vice chairman of the board of directors. Sifford relinquished the president title. Sifford has been employed by the company for 22 years and has been president, CEO and a director since October 2012.
Mark Worden, previously Shoe Carnival’s executive vice president – chief strategy and marketing officer, was appointed to the position of president and chief customer officer. In this newly created position, Worden will focus on all customer-facing activities including store operations, ecommerce, customer relationship management, marketing and real estate.
He will continue to report to Sifford in his new position. Worden joined Shoe Carnival in 2018 with nearly 25 years of brand management, marketing and executive management experience, including leading international consumer packaged goods brands at the SC Johnson Company and Kimberly-Clark Corporation.
Tim Baker, previously executive vice president – store operations, was appointed to the newly created position of executive vice president – chief retail operations officer, reporting to Worden. In this role, Baker will continue to lead store operations and will have greater focus on the customer experience, store growth and team development.. Baker has been with the company for over 30 years.
Kerry Jackson, previously senior executive vice president – chief financial and operating officer and treasurer, was appointed the senior executive vice oresident – chief financial and administrative officer and treasurer. Jackson will continue to lead the financial and treasury functions, as he has done for the past 23 years, and will also focus on strategic administrative initiatives as the company continues to evolve its infrastructure to support its long-term growth objectives.
“On behalf of our board of directors, I am very pleased to announce these executive appointments,” said Sifford. “Mark has played an integral role in our strategic development in the last year, and we are excited to have him take on this newly created position as we continue to evolve our business to connect with new and existing customers where and when they want to shop for family footwear. Tim and Kerry are outstanding leaders, whose new roles position them to more directly support our long-term strategic plan. As a team, we look forward to building on our accomplishments to generate sustainable growth and shareholder value.”
Worden commented, “I am honored to be appointed to the role of president and chief customer officer of Shoe Carnival and would like to thank Cliff and the board of directors for their support. I am thrilled to join Cliff in leading our customer-centric organization with over 5,000 committed team members and an experienced management team. We are well positioned to capture strategic growth opportunities and to identify emerging shopper trends as we expand beyond the billion dollar revenue milestone.”
Sifford concluded, “It is my pleasure to lead a very experienced team of leaders across the organization, and I believe we have developed a strong foundation for long-term success. Shoe Carnival is a unique company with a high-performing team of people who care about delivering superior customer service and on-trend footwear with an authentic in-store experience.”
