In a surprising move, the recently appointed president of Academy Sports + Outdoors is leaving the company. Michael Mullican was appointed to the role on June 1st, as part of a planned leadership transition.
The press release from Academy said that Mullican “recently informed the company that he is stepping down to pursue other personal and professional opportunities”. The move was effective today.
Sam Johnson, who most recently was EVP of Retail Operations will take over the vacated role. In a domino effect, Eric Friederich has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Retail Operations.
I am pleased to congratulate Sam and Eric on their well-deserved promotions. Sam is a trusted and integral partner to our leadership team. I am confident that his deep retail experience, proven leadership and broad knowledge of our business make him very well-suited to help lead us through our current long-range strategy. Eric also brings a strong wealth of store operations experience and exceptional leadership that we will leverage to continue driving store growth and productivity.
Steve Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer of Academy Sports
Sam Johnson’s credits at Academy include improving productivity and profitability of stores, while still achieving high levels of customer satisfaction. Prior to joining Academy in April 2017, his experience includes time a hhgregg and Sears.
I am honored to take on my new role as Academy’s next President. I look forward to working closely with Steve, our Board, and the entire Academy team to continue advancing our long-term growth strategy through new store openings and the increased productivity of existing stores and distribution centers, while providing fun for all our customers.
Sam Johnson, President of Academy
Johnson’s new role will include continued oversight of retail operations and real estate & construction, as well as new responsibility for logistics & supply chain.