Wilson Sporting Goods Co. announced the return of Hans-Martin Reh to the company after a 17-year absence, as the General Manager of Racquet Sports. His time away included a 14-year stint at Nike, where he was most recently General Manager of Tennis, Basketball, Indoor, Swim, and Brand Jordan for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
“Hans-Martin is a unique operational and growth genius, and his track record as a strategic and disruptive force in the sporting goods industry couldn’t be better suited to our plans to build on our leadership in Racquet Sports,” said Mike Dowse, president and CEO of Wilson. “We are at an exciting and critical inflection point in Wilson's history, with our digital and smart product launches, new investments in re-launching our brand, and our recommitment to groundbreaking R&D.”
With Reh’s appointment, Jon Muir – who has been the head and heart of Racquet Sports at Wilson for almost eight years – will be leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. “Krista and I are both from Southern California and have been wanting to get back there for some time now,” said Muir. “The company is in great hands now so the timing was fortuitous.” “I want to personally thank Jon for his unwavering commitment to Wilson for almost two decades, and for helping provide Wilson with a smooth transition” Dowse added.
Reh spent 14 years at Nike, effecting double digit net profit and net sales growth in many of the businesses that he was assigned to manage. Most recently, as General Manager in EMEA, he grew Nike’s Tennis, Brand Jordan and Swim revenues in that region by signficant amounts, incuding an astounding 75% YOY growth in Swim.
Today, Reh is the Chief Commercial Officer at Heinz Kettler GmbH & Co., a leading European manufacturer of home fitness equipment, leisure furniture, outdoor toys and bikes, where he had global responsibility for managing and growing a 200-person sales and marketing organization.
The news of Reh stepping in as the company’s new head of Racquet Sports is the latest in a series of major announcements and activities following the appointment of Mike Dowse as the company’s new president, including the recent news of Wilson’s revolutionary new connected basketball which will be released later this year.
