Wolverine World Wide, Inc. has established a new stand-alone International Group to further galvanize growth overseas. The group will be led by Bill Brown, a
24-year veteran of the company. Brown most recently led the former Heritage Brands Group and
has served in numerous senior brand management and international
positions throughout his career with the Company, including roles with
Hush Puppies, Wolverine, Caterpillar Footwear, Harley-Davidson Footwear,
Sebago and Merrell.

Wolverine said the move new structure “will enable the company to develop and implement
specific regional strategies and ensure the full power of the brand
portfolio is brought to market.”

As president of the International Group,
Brown will report directly to the company's Chairman and CEO, Blake W.
Krueger.

In addition to the new International Group, which will be responsible
for the market development, selling activities and local market
execution for all brands outside of North America, the company is also
announcing today that it will reorganize its portfolio into three
branded wholesale operating groups:

  • The Outdoor Group, comprised of the Merrell, Chaco and Patagonia Footwear brands, led by Jim Zwiers;
  • The Heritage Group, comprised of the Wolverine, Caterpillar Footwear,
    Bates, Harley-Davidson Footwear and HyTest brands, led by Ted Gedra; and
  • The Lifestyle Group, comprised of the Hush Puppies, Cushe and Sebago brands, led by Mark Neal.

Reporting to Brown as the new Managing Director – EMEA (Europe,
Middle East and Africa), will be Onder Ors. Ors served most recently
as Senior Vice President, International for the Outdoor Group, and has
been instrumental in the global growth of the Merrell brand over the
last five years. Also reporting to Brown will be Baffin Yip (Vice
President of Greater China), Sanjay Mehra (Vice President of India),
Sean Carney (Vice President – International for the Heritage Group),
Bill Mirecki (Vice President – International for the Lifestyle Group)
Linda Brunzell (Vice President – International for the Outdoor Group)
and John MacLeod (Vice President of Finance and Special Projects-
International Group).

Krueger stated, “The organizational realignment announced
today represents a significant step forward for the company. The timing
is right to capitalize on the exceptional momentum of our portfolio of
brands, and we believe this new international structure will give us the
flexibility and focus to accelerate the performance of our brands
around the world. We are pleased that we have the talent within our
organization to support this business evolution and look forward to
continued global growth and success for our brands.”

The benefits of this new structure include:

  • Strengthening the Company's international teams and creating a more regionally focused infrastructure;
  • Providing focused leadership for all of its established EMEA businesses;
  • Implementing specific growth strategies for important emerging markets, such as Greater China and India;
  • Applying additional resources to the international opportunities with the most significant growth potential; and
  • Maximizing the ability of its brand-focused operations to do what they
    do best – developing innovative cutting-edge product, delivering
    compelling marketing strategies and forging strong and lasting
    connections with consumers.

Wolverine noted that it was one of the very first footwear or apparel companies to seek
opportunities outside the United States when it introduced the Hush
Puppies brand into international markets in 1959. It said it currently has one of the strongest networks of international partners in
the industry.

Krueger concluded, “Our company has a track record of consistent
long-term growth, operational excellence and global brand building. We
are very optimistic about the future for our brands and look forward to
this exciting next step in the company's global evolution.”