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Academy Sports + Outdoors has been going through some planned leadership changes, starting from the top with a new CEO. Steve Lawrence is taking over the top spot, which vacated his role as Chief Merchandising Office (CMO).
Academy Sports has now filled that role from within their company. They announced that Matt McCabe will be promoted to EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer, effective June 25th.
I am proud to announce the promotion of Matt McCabe to Chief Merchandising Officer. He has been instrumental in growing the Footwear category during his tenure as GMM with the addition of several new brands such as Hey Dude and Birkenstock along with an improved shopping experience both in-store and online. The combination of his broad industry experience coupled with his knowledge of Academy should make his transition to Chief Merchandising Officer seamless. I’m excited to partner with Matt and the entire merchant organization as we continue to deliver on our mission to provide fun for all by strengthening our merchandising through meaningful assortment, powerful brands, and compelling value.
Steve Lawrence, Academy Sports + Outdoors Chief Executive Officer
Matt McCabe was the SVP, General Merchandise Manager (GMM), Footwear since September 2017. He joined Academy the year prior as VP, Divisional Merchandise Manager, Athletic and Licensed Apparel.
I’m humbled and excited for the opportunity to lead our merchant organization into the future. Under Steve’s leadership, we established a clear market position with strong and localized assortments, value-based differentiation, and refined our merchandising strategies and processes, and I am confident that we can continue to accelerate our growth and take market share in key categories as we help customers have fun out there.
Matt McCabe, EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer, Academy Sports
Prior to joining Academy Sports, Matt McCabe was Vice President at Golfsmith International, where he led the apparel, footwear, and soft consumables buying and private brand businesses. His career includes various merchant leadership roles at The Bon Ton Department Stores, Bachrach, Sears & Roebuck Co., and Mark Shale.
In his new role with Academy Sports, he’ll oversee merchandising, planning & allocation, visual merchandising, and private label product development & sourcing.