Shaquille O’Neal, who retired from the NBA last year, has
hired Mary Gleason, who ran the Starter collection for Nike, to help revamp his
Shaq-branded footwear and apparel.
“She’s the LeBron
James of my shoe team,” O’Neal said of Gleason, president of Shaq and Dunkman,
according to a report in Footwear News. “I don’t have the know-how to build a brand,
but Mary has the capabilities to do it.”
Gleason also manages Schottenstein Luxury Group brands
Judith Leiber, Adrienne Vittadini and Taryn Rose.
Gleason helped O’Neal launch his value-channel lines in 1999
with Starter. Nike acquired the rights to Shaq and Dunkman when it purchased
Starter and Gleason’s Group 3 Design brand management company in 2004. She ran Nike's
value-channel push until the end of 2005.
Gleason said her first priority was to launch a website to
showcase O’Neal’s personality as well as his products. The site, Shaq.com, went
live this month and merges O’Neal’s blog and personal social media handles with
e-commerce.
ACI International is Shaq and Dunkman’s footwear licensee.
