Shoes For Crews named its new board of directors, which includes Donald Watros, Jame Donath, Chris Quinn, and Colin Browne. This new board brings years of experience working in the footwear, financial services and consumer product industries.

Donald Watros, president and CEO of Shoes For Crews since 2017, was a member of the Shoes For Crews, LLC’s previous board of directors. His appointment follows years of working in various executive-level positions, including president of Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), where he participated in acquiring Saks, Inc. and Galleria Kaufhof. He was also managing director at NRDC Equity Partners, where he participated in the acquisition of Lord and Taylor and HBC. Watros’ experience spans operations and financial roles in diversified global retail businesses.

“We’re excited to enter the next phase of Shoes For Crews with our talented new board to continue to innovate in the slip-resistant and safety footwear space. We will continue to leverage purposeful design and our proprietary technology—garnered from our 40 years of business—to catapult us forward another 40 years, continuing to be a thought leader in our industry,” said Watros.

The other new board members include:

  • Jame Donath was named chairman of the Board. He is based in New York and is a seasoned investor, advisor, and corporate director experienced in helping reorganized companies address financing, M&A, and other strategic initiatives. Donath spent over 20 years as an investor in corporate credit opportunities, during which time he regularly led complex restructurings across the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific. He was the founder and managing partner of Magnolia Road Capital, a global event-driven credit fund, and a managing director at Davidson Kempner Capital Management in New York and London, where he launched and oversaw the company’s European credit business. Donath started his career in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs & Co. in New York.
  • Chris Quinn, based in Austin, TX, is said to be an accomplished executive experienced in the retail, e-commerce, footwear, and apparel industries. He was the CEO of iDesign, a global houseware company. He was formerly president and CEO of Step2 Company, a $325M toy and outdoor goods manufacturer sold to Aterian Investment Partners. Quinn also served as the executive vice president of sales and retail at New Balance, where he was promoted to P&L Leader for North America. Earlier in his career, he held executive positions at Procter & Gamble and the Clorox Company. Quinn’s 30 years of experience developing performance organizations helped modernize the brands, accelerating the development of the direct-to-consumer business globally.
  • Colin Browne, based in Annapolis, MD, is the CEO of Cascale, a global nonprofit alliance of 300 consumer goods brands, retailers, manufacturers, sourcing agents, service providers, trade associations, NGOs, and academic institutions. He formerly served as interim CEO of Under Armour and is credited with “modernizing” its direct-to-consumer model. Previously, Browne served as COO and was an integral part of Under Armour’s transformation, strengthening corporate culture and restoring revenue and EPS growth. Before joining Under Armour, Browne was the managing director of Asia sourcing for VF Corp.

Shoes For Crews is headquartered in Boca Raton, FL. It began manufacturing slip-resistant footwear in 1984.

Image courtesy Shoes For Crews