Academy Sports + Outdoors Inc. promoted Carl Ford to executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective July 12, overseeing finance, accounting, tax, treasury, loss prevention, internal audit, and investor relations. He succeeds Michael Mullican who recently transitioned to president.
Ford has worked at Academy as senior vice president of finance since January 2019. Before that, he was vice president of financial planning and analysis at Belk, Inc., for 15 years. At Belk, he also was the vice president of internal audit with leadership roles in accounting and treasury. Ford also worked for Deloitte & Touche in their audit practice.
“I am thrilled to announce the promotion of Carl Ford to chief financial officer,” said Mullican. “He has an incredible financial acumen and track record of driving positive results at Academy. He played an integral role in helping us navigate the pandemic, achieve our previous long-range plan, as well as supporting our IPO and the development of our new long-range plan. I’m confident Carl and his team will continue to be excellent stewards of our capital as they drive value for our shareholders.”
“I’m humbled and excited for the opportunity to lead our finance organization into the future,” said Ford. “Under Michael’s leadership, we developed a strong financial team, redefined business processes and established Academy within the financial community. The company has a strong balance sheet and solid cash flow to support our growth and create value for our shareholders. I look forward to partnering with Steve and Michael as we focus on long-term growth and profitability as we pursue our vision of becoming the best sports and outdoors retailer in the country.”
Academy Sports + Outdoors operates 270 stores across 18 states.
Photo courtesy Academy Sports + Outdoors
