SPWH - Sportsman's Warehouse Appoints Paul Stone as Chief Executive Officer and Announces Chair Transition | Benzinga
Stone Brings More Than 30 Years of Retail Leadership Experience, Including in the Outdoor Specialty Space
Chair Joseph Schneider to Retire from Board at the End of the Year
Board Designates Rich McBee as Next Independent Chair
WEST JORDAN, Utah, Sept. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sportsman's Warehouse Holdings, Inc. ("Sportsman's Warehouse" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:SPWH) announced today that its Board of Directors (the "Board") has appointed Paul Stone as the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company and as a member of the Board, effective November 1, 2023. Mr. Stone's appointment follows an extensive search and selection process that considered both internal and external candidates. This process was led by the Board and conducted with the assistance of a leading independent executive search firm.
Mr. Stone will succeed Joseph P. Schneider, who has served as Interim Chief Executive Officer and President since April 2023. Mr. Schneider will continue to serve as Independent Chair of the Board until the end of 2023, when he will retire from the Board and director Rich McBee will succeed him as Independent Chair.
Mr. Stone is a seasoned executive with direct experience in the outdoor specialty retail space, having served as the Chief Retail Officer of Cabela's Inc., where he transformed the customer experience and led the modernization of the company's digitization strategy. Most recently, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., where he oversaw more than 11,000 locations globally with a strong focus on operations and customer service excellence. He also served as Interim Chief Executive Officer and on the Board of Directors of Hertz from May 2020 to October 2021, and in that role helped drive the company's successful emergence from bankruptcy.
"After carefully considering a wide range of candidates, the Board believes that Paul is the ideal choice to lead Sportsman's Warehouse through its next chapter of growth," said Joseph Schneider. "Not only does Paul share the Company's passion for the outdoors, but he is also an experienced leader who has helped drive significant positive transformation in the retail sector. Paul's prior retail leadership roles make him especially qualified to execute the Company's plan to catalyze growth, enhance the focus on our e-commerce platforms and private-label products, and improve our overall customer experience. We are very pleased to welcome him to Sportsman's Warehouse and believe it is a testament to the strength of our brand that we were able to attract a candidate as highly qualified as Paul."
"As a lifelong outdoorsman, I am thrilled to be joining Sportsman's Warehouse at such a pivotal time for the Company," said Mr. Stone. "Sportsman's Warehouse has taken significant steps over the past several months to enhance shareholder value, including reducing its expense structure and managing inventory, and I am excited to begin working with the rest of the talented management team and the Board to build on ...