Puma appointed Bob Philion as president of Puma North America. Last November, Puma announced that the region’s longtime CEO Jay Piccola would retire mid-2017.

Wolverine Worldwide appointed Tom Kennedy as president of Sperry, the second-largest brand within its portfolio.

Under Armour is reportedly in negotiations to replace Adidas as the kit provider for Real Madrid in what would rank as the highest-value sponsorship deal in the world.

Patagonia formed an exclusive strategic research partnership with HeiQ, a Swiss textile technology innovator.

VF Corp., a branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories company, elected Carol L. Roberts and Benno Dorer as directors of the board, effective February 14, 2017.

Caleres appointed Karlyn Mattson as chief merchandising officer and Chris Cavalline as senior vice president, e-commerce, of its Famous Footwear division.

In a full-page advertisement in The Baltimore Sun, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank responded to the uproar the company has faced after his comments last week praising President Donald Trump.

Adidas signed Lionel Messi to a lifetime contract.

Peloton, a specialist in home cycling, appointed William Lynch, former CEO at Barnes & Noble, as president.

Nordica USA appointed Sam Beck as director of marketing and communications for the Nordica group and Ethan Korpi as Nordica product manager for both boots & skis, as well as Nordica race manager. Wendy Reger, formerly marketing manager for Nordica, will be leaving the company following a relocation of her family to Massachusetts.

Performance Sports Group Ltd. said it reached a settlement with Q30 Sports LLC to obtain Q30 Sports’ consent to the assignment of a license and related agreements to an acquisition vehicle co-owned by affiliates of Sagard Holdings Inc. and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.

Accell Group N.V. announced the departure of René Takens, CEO and chairman of the board of directors.

Marucci Sports acquired Victus Sports, a custom wood bat manufacturer and Big League bat supplier.

Confluence Outdoor appointed Richard Krause as CEO and president after longstanding CEO and President Sue Rechner announced she would step down.

Surf Expo appointed Kenenth Andres as sales manager for the SUP, Wake, Wind, Kayak & Canoe sections of the show.

Sandy Nicholls, director of marketing at Gita Sporting Goods Ltd., will retire February 24. Nicholls joined Gita in 1978 as the first employee of the then one-man operation founded by Giorgio Andretta.

Suunto, a producer of sports watches, dive computers and precision instruments, appointed Nat Harward as endurance community manager in the U.S.

An ownership group led by Alliance Baseball LLC completed its purchase of Baseball America from TEN: The Enthusiast Network.

Snow Peak, an outdoor lifestyle company, named Yuji Bando as general manager of North American operations.

Lacrosse Unlimited named Sue Breslin Davidson as vice president of merchandising.

Photo courtesy Puma