Wolverine Worldwide Names Rick Blackshaw President of Sperry Top-Sider and Chris Lindner President of Keds

ROCKFORD, Mich., Sept. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolverine Worldwide (NYSE: WWW) today announced two important organizational moves that will significantly strengthen the Company's brand leadership and underscore the depth and talent of the Company's management team.  Effective immediately, Rick Blackshaw has been promoted to President, Sperry Top-Sider, and Chris Lindner has been promoted to President, Keds. 

RICK BLACKSHAW TO LEAD SPERRY TOP-SIDER

Rick Blackshaw served most recently as President of Keds, where he led the brand to a global resurgence with a focused consumer-centric business strategy, outstanding product and compelling marketing.  Today, Keds is one of the fastest growing brands in the industry.  Blackshaw came to Keds from Converse, where he was the Vice President and General Manager of the Chuck Taylor footwear business.    

"Rick Blackshaw is a dynamic, strategic leader with an unrivaled passion for brands and consumers," said Blake W. Krueger, Chairman, CEO, and President of Wolverine Worldwide.  "What Rick and team have been able to do with the Keds brand is nothing short of remarkable, and the Company is pleased to have such a proven and energized executive leading our second largest brand, Sperry Top-Sider." 

"Rick's experience building global brands has served Keds well, and we have every confidence in Rick's ability to take Sperry Top-Sider to new heights around the world," said Andy Simister, President of the Lifestyle Group.  "I am excited by Rick's enthusiasm and vision and believe he is the right leader to firmly establish Sperry Top-Sider as a global lifestyle brand."

Commented Blackshaw, "I am incredibly proud to lead such a great team that everyday lives and breathes Sperry Top-Sider.  Sperry is one of the coolest, most beloved brands in consumers' closets, and I could not be more excited about the opportunities that lay ahead - both here in the U.S. and around the world."

CHRIS LINDNER TO LEAD KEDS

Prior to his current appointment, Chris Lindner served as Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Business Development for Sperry Top-Sider.  Prior to that, he was the Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Global Sales for the Company's Saucony brand.  Before joining Wolverine Worldwide, Lindner spent nearly 10 years at Nike in a variety of senior marketing roles.

Krueger commented, "Chris Lindner has a diverse brand background building iconic, global brands including Saucony, Converse and Nike.  We expect that his absolute passion for consumer engagement will help drive the continued global expansion of Keds, whose recent growth has been led by Brave Girl #1, Taylor Swift."

Simister added, "Chris has consistently demonstrated his talent and passion for taking brands to new heights.  He possesses all the skills necessary to lead Keds into its expected next great chapter of growth."

Commented Lindner, "I'm proud to join the amazing team at Keds.  The team has set a bold vision to become the leading brand for teen girls around the globe, and I look forward to being a part of the next step of growth for this iconic American brand."

With a commitment to service and product excellence, Wolverine World Wide, Inc. is one of the world's leading marketers of branded casual, active lifestyle, work, outdoor sport, athletic, children's and uniform footwear and apparel.  The Company's portfolio of highly recognized brands includes: Merrell^®, Sperry Top-Sider^®, Hush Puppies^®, Saucony^®, Wolverine^®, Keds^®, Stride Rite^®, Sebago^®, Cushe^®, Chaco^®, Bates^®, HYTEST^® and Soft Style^®.  The Company also is the global footwear licensee of popular brands including Cat^® and Harley-Davidson^®. The Company's products are carried by leading retailers in the U.S. and globally in over 200 countries and territories. For additional information, please visit our website, www.wolverineworldwide.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding expected 2014 financial performance, the impact of the Strategic Realignment Plan, and statements about continued effectiveness of the Company's global business model. In addition, words such as "estimates," "anticipates," "believes," "forecasts," "plans," "predicts," "projects," "is likely," "expects," "intends," "should," "will," variations of such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions ("Risk Factors") that are difficult to predict with regard to timing, extent, likelihood, and degree of occurrence.  Risk Factors include, among others:  the Company's ability to continue to integrate and realize the benefits of the PLG Acquisition on a timely basis or at all; the Company's ability to successfully develop its brands and businesses; changes in interest rates, tax laws, duty structures, tariffs, quotas, or applicable assessments in countries of import and export including anti-dumping measures and trade defense actions; changes in consumer preferences, spending patterns, buying patterns, or price sensitivity; changes in future pension funding requirements and pension expenses; the ability to secure and protect owned intellectual property or use licensed intellectual property; cancellation of orders for future delivery, or the failure of the Department of Defense to exercise future purchase options or award new contracts, or the cancellation of existing contracts by the Department of Defense or other military purchasers; changes in planned customer demand, re-orders, or at-once orders; changes in relationships with, including the loss of, significant customers; the availability and pricing of footwear manufacturing capacity; reliance on foreign sourcing; failure of international licensees and distributors to meet sales goals or to make timely payments on amounts owed; disruption of technology systems; regulatory or other changes affecting the supply or price of materials used in manufacturing; the impact of regulatory or legal proceedings and legal compliance risks; the availability of power, labor, and resources in key foreign sourcing countries, including China; the cost, availability, and management of raw materials, inventories, services, and labor for owned and contract manufacturers; the impact of competition and pricing; the impact of changes in the value of foreign currencies; the development of new initiatives; the risks of doing business in developing countries and politically or economically volatile areas; retail buying patterns; consolidation in the retail sector; changes in economic and market conditions; acts and effects of war and terrorism; seasonality and weather; problems affecting the Company's distribution system, including service interruptions at shipping and receiving ports; the failure to maintain the security of personally identifiable and other information of customers, stockholders, and employees; and additional factors discussed in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and exhibits thereto.  The foregoing Risk Factors, as well as other existing Risk Factors and new Risk Factors that emerge from time to time, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.  Furthermore, the Company undertakes no obligation to update, amend, or clarify forward-looking statements.  

SOURCE Wolverine World Wide, Inc.