Academy Sports + Outdoors appointed Rene Casares as its senior vice president, general counsel and secretary.
Casares, 42, joined Academy in July 2013 as senior director, associate general counsel and assistant secretary, and was promoted in March 2016 to vice president, associate general counsel and assistant secretary. Prior to Academy, Casares served as an associate attorney at the global law firm, Vinson & Elkins LLP, from 2008 to 2013, where he advised major and middle-market companies with mergers and acquisitions, private equity, corporate governance and capital markets. He also served as an associate attorney at the global law firm, Latham & Watkins LLP, from 2006 to 2008. Additionally, Casares has a strong background in banking and consulting after serving as an investment banking associate at Growth Capital Partners. L.P., a strategy consultant at KPMG Consulting, Inc. and an analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co. Casares holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School.
“I am thrilled to continue working alongside my fellow team members, and be a familiar and trusted partner to the leadership team,” she said. “I believe in the talent and strength of Academy’s legal, risk and compliance teams, and look forward to the continued success they will bring to Academy.”
In his new role as General Counsel, Casares will oversee and provide strategic guidance for all legal affairs at Academy. He will also manage the risk and compliance teams.
“Rene’s experience in legal, banking and compliance, as well as his extensive knowledge of the company, make him perfectly suited for the role as General Counsel,” said J.K. Symancyk, Academy Sports + Outdoors, president and CEO. “His leadership in past roles has made him a tremendous asset to Academy, and I am excited he will be bringing that leadership and commitment to the executive team.”
