Sports Authority named Stephen Binkley chief merchandising officer. Additionally, Greg Waters, formerly EVP, chief merchant and chief marketing officer, has decided to depart to pursue personal interests after 24 years with Sports Authority.
During his time with the company, Waters held several leadership roles, including EVP, marketing and merchandising, COO and SVP of store operations.
“Greg has been a great asset to Sports Authority and we thank him for his contributions to the company,” commented Michael Foss, chief executive officer for Sports Authority. “He has played an important role in strengthening company operations and in our brand’s evolution overall. Greg will be spending the next several months aiding in the transition and we thank him for that. We wish Greg the best in all of his future endeavors.”
In late June, Michael Foss was appointed to the position of chief executive officer, following the retirement of Darrell Webb. Foss, who has served on the Sports Authority Board of Directors since 2009, joined the company from Petco Animal Supplies, where he served as EVP and CFO since 2007. Leonard Green & Partners, L.P., the majority owner of Sports Authority, is also a large shareholder in Petco.
In his new role, Binkley will be responsible for managing merchandising and private brands for Sports Authority. Binkley previously held the position of senior vice president of merchandising and softlines. He possesses more than 25 years of retail, apparel, sportswear, footwear and hard goods experience. Prior to the position of senior vice president of merchandising, he held positions as SVP, misses sportswear at Kohl’s, and VP, home store at Macy’s.
Foss added, “Stephen possesses significant expertise in merchandising and has shown great leadership in his time at Sports Authority. Stephen is an industry veteran with a proven ability to make strategic decisions and execute to drive business results and we are excited to have him in this new role.”
Binkley, along with Chief Marketing Officer, Paul M. Okimoto, will now report directly to Chief Executive Officer Michael Foss.
