Golfsmith International Holdings, Inc. named Martin E. Hanaka as chairman of the board of directors. He replaces First Atlantic Capital, Ltd.'s Charles Shaw, who will retire from the board in May after serving as Golfsmith chairman since October 2002.
“We thank Charles for his leadership over the past four and a half years — a period in which we grew our store base 130 percent, executed several strategic acquisitions and new market entries, fined-tuned our multi-channel sales model, executed an IPO, and evolved into a more mature, metrics-driven organization,” said Jim Thompson, chief executive officer, president and director of Golfsmith. “Marty is a highly successful retailer and corporate leader, and his deep experience will help us guide our company into its next phase of growth.”
From 1998-2004, Hanaka served as chief executive officer and executive chairman of The Sports Authority. Under his leadership, the company experienced dramatic growth through long-range strategic planning and strong execution. From 1994-1997, he was president, chief operating officer and director of Staples, Inc. Hanaka also has held senior management positions at Lechmere, Inc., and Sears, Roebuck & Co, where he spent the first 20 years of his career. At present, he is chairman emeritus of The Sports Authority and serves on the boards of Trans World Entertainment, Brightstar Corp. and is National Governor of The Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Hanaka is a graduate of Cornell University.
