Wolverine Names Melissa Mullen President of Sweaty Betty

David Moin
·3 min read

Wolverine World Wide Inc. has appointed Melissa Mullen global brand president of Sweaty Betty, the premium women’s activewear brand acquired by Wolverine in August 2021.

Mullen, a seasoned consumer-focused and omnichannel retail leader, held various senior executive roles with fashion athletic, and footwear brands. Since 2019 she served as vice president and general manager of U.K. and Ireland for Jo Malone London, which is owned by the Estée Lauder Cos. She was responsible for all commercial operations in those two markets, including stores, e-commerce and wholesale.

More from WWD

Prior to joining Jo Malone London, Mullen worked at Nike for more than eight years in a variety of e-commerce and merchandising roles in Europe, Asia and North America. These included serving as senior director of Nike Direct Retail in the U.K. and Ireland, and as senior director of Nike.com global expansion.

Mullen will report to Isabel Soriano, president of Wolverine Worldwide’s London-based International Group, aligning the brand with the company’s other international businesses and enabling the teams to leverage strengths and resources across functions. She succeeds Julia Straus, who as previously announced, is returning to the U.S. with her family.

“Melissa’s proven track record with consumer-obsessed global athletic and fashion brands makes her the ideal leader to help propel Sweaty Betty forward,” Soriano said in a statement Monday. “Her deep omnichannel experience and industry knowledge will help position the brand for long-term success.”

“Wolverine Worldwide’s strategy includes focusing our efforts and investments on Sweaty Betty and other key brands within our portfolio,” Brendan Hoffman, Wolverine Worldwide’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “I’m confident Melissa will help unlock Sweaty Betty’s global growth potential and forge even stronger connections with its consumers around the world.”

“When the opportunity arose to lead Sweaty Betty, a brand rooted in purpose and deep consumer connections, I knew I had to be part of the next chapter of its story,” Mullen said. She said her mission was to grow the business and empower women through fitness.

The Sweaty Betty appointment is the second major announcement regarding executive changes at Wolverine since the end of May, when Chris Hufnagel was appointed president, responsible for leading and driving strategy across the company’s portfolio of footwear brands, along with leading its consumer marketing and insights teams.

Wolverine also promoted Janice Tennant to global brand president of Merrell and Rob Griffiths to global brand president of Saucony. Tennant and Griffiths both report to Hufnagel who reports to Hoffman.

Wolverine made its first major foray into women’s apparel by purchasing Sweaty Betty in an all-cash transaction valued at $410 million. Wolverine acquired the shares of Lady of Leisure InvestCo Ltd., the entity that owns the Sweaty Betty brand, from private equity firm L Catterton and other shareholders. L Catterton invested in Sweaty Betty in 2015.

Aside from Sweaty Betty, Wolverine’s portfolio of brands includes Merrell, Saucony, Sperry, Hush Puppies, Wolverine, Chaco, Bates, HyTest and Stride Rite. Wolverine is also the global footwear licensee of Cat and Harley-Davidson.

Best of WWD

Click here to read the full article.