New CEO for giant US outdoor sports retailer

Academy Sports+Outdoors, the third biggest retailer in the US sporting goods space after Dick’s and Bass Pro Shops, has a new CEO.

The Texas-based business which stocks fishing brands including Lew’s, Daiwa, Abu Garcia, Shimano, 13 Fishing, Penn and Quantum, has promoted EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer, Steve Lawrence (pictured), into the top role. He will also join Academy’s Board.

Lawrence succeeds the retailer’s Chairman, President and CEO since 2018, Ken Hicks, under whose leadership Academy grew net sales from $4.8 billion to $6.4 billion and net income from $58.5m to $628m by 2022. Hicks moves to Executive Chairman of Academy’s Board of Directors.

In another key change to the leadership team, Chief Financial Officer, Michael Millican, becomes company President and assumes additional responsibilities for strategic planning, logistics and supply chain and legal compliance, in addition to existing duties that include customer insights and strategy, financial planning and analysis, and investor relations.

The changes become effective from June 1, 2023.