West Marine announced the hiring of Ron Baime as chief merchandise officer. Baime offers more than 20 years of experience in the retail space and officially started this month.
Baime’s experience includes 12 years at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. where he served as senior vice president and general merchandise manager, among other roles. As senior vice president, he directed several critical cross-functional transformational initiatives around digital strategy, category and business unit launches, customer experience and off-price purchasing. During his time in the role, Baime partnered with the Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Financial Officer as a member of the talent steering committee to develop strategies around talent acquisition, development and retention.
“I’m excited to bring such a strong leader in the retail space onto the West Marine team,” said Ken Seipel, CEO of West Marine. “Ron offers a unique perspective and skill set that will help the Company to grow and excel in the coming years.”
Baime was most recently the managing member of the Baime Advisory Group, LLC, which he founded as an independent consultant practice with a focus on retail strategy, customer experience and leadership. He previously served as executive vice president at Toys “R” Us, Inc. coordinating and assisting the leadership team through a critical period of transition following his time with Dick’s Sporting Goods. Prior to Dick’s, Ron held senior leadership roles with Kohl’s, Best Buy, and Five Below. Baime holds a B.A. in business administration and sociology from the University of Pittsburgh.
