by Larry EderI have said it many times before: the few people who are talented enough to manage, product and develop consistently great running product can fit into a grade school classroom. Mark Sheehan would be one of these people.
MIZUNO USA HIRES INDUSTRY VETERAN MARK SHEEHAN AS VICE PRESIDENT OF RUNNING PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
Norcross, GA. (January 5, 2015) – Mizuno USA, a global leader in sports apparel, footwear and equipment, announced today the appointment of Mark Sheehan as Vice President – Product Management, Running Division. Sheehan will report to Dick Lyons, Senior VP/GM – Product Divisions.
“In order to achieve sustainable leadership positions in the respective categories in which we compete, Mizuno USA has engineered, and is implementing, a significant transformation to reinforce our competencies and capabilities,” said Bob Puccini, President of Mizuno USA and Director of Mizuno Corporation. “Our Running Division is an especially critical piece of our growth plans. To drive accelerated growth, we have been making fundamental changes to different parts of our business, including how we are structured, how we innovate and how we go to market. Mark’s hiring is an important step in this ongoing change.”
“Mark is an industry veteran who has deep understanding of the needs of today’s runners and how to deliver exceptional products. We are especially delighted with his broad, global experience from design and development to sourcing and merchandising to retail including the Running Specialty Channel,” said Lyons.
Mark Sheehan comes to Mizuno USA with 28 years of experience in the running business. He began his career as a co-owner of a Running Specialty store in 1986. After his retail experience, Mark moved to product management and held progressively increasing responsibilities at Nike, Puma, Reebok and K-Swiss. Most recently, Sheehan was President of his own firm, Material Concept Group. Sheehan is an accomplished runner himself, having qualified for the US Olympic trials and worked as a track and cross country coach at the University of South Florida.
“I am thrilled to be part of the Mizuno brand that has a very aspirational purpose to impact the world through the transformative power of sports. Through its superior products and highly emotional brand message, Mizuno has built incredible loyalty and evangelism among runners. I look forward to working with the team to deliver that brand experience to even more runners,” said Sheehan.
“Mark has both the experience and passion we need in this critical role,” said Puccini. “His addition to our team further supports our commitment to deliver continuous innovation to fuel our aggressive and achievable growth objectives in this category.”
About Mizuno USA, Inc.
Mizuno USA, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mizuno Corporation, one of the largest specialty sporting goods manufacturers in the world. Mizuno USA, Inc. manufactures and distributes baseball, golf, softball, running, track & field, and volleyball equipment, apparel, and footwear for North America. Mizuno USA, Inc. is based in Norcross, Ga.
