New York City — Authentic Brands Group (ABG), a global brand development, marketing and entertainment platform, has appointed Matt O’Toole as executive vice chairman. In his new role, O’Toole will work in tandem with ABG’s leadership team on new brand acquisitions, driving strategic initiatives, as well as supporting the global expansion of Reebok.
“We are thrilled to welcome Matt O’Toole to ABG’s leadership team,” says Jamie Salter, founder, chairman and CEO, ABG. “Matt brings over 30 years of leadership experience in the footwear, apparel, equipment and sports marketing business. For the last 15 years, he provided a clear vision for Reebok through some of its most historic and pivotal moments. As he steps into his new role at ABG, we look forward to utilizing Matt’s industry knowledge and expertise to drive Reebok and the ongoing development of other ABG brands to strategically maximize revenue opportunities across our business verticals.”
At Reebok, O’Toole pioneered the brand’s return to its fitness and running roots and reshaped Reebok’s performance credibility with key franchises, including Nano, Zigtech and Floatride as well as many innovative partnerships and collaborations. More recently, O’Toole has led the company’s “Unleashed” strategy. The strategy set a course for a post-adidas Reebok, focusing on Reebok’s athletic roots, and doubling down on the brand’s most iconic styles. As a result, Reebok is seeing unprecedented global growth, including a 40% U.S. market share gain. Prior to Reebok, O’Toole was president and CEO of CCM/The Hockey Company for 9 years, where he led a turnaround of the business and orchestrated a landmark 10-year partnership with the NHL.
Authentic Brands Group (ABG) is a brand development, marketing and entertainment company, which owns a portfolio of global media, entertainment and lifestyle brands. Headquartered in New York City, ABG elevates and builds the long term value of more than 50 consumer brands and properties by partnering with best-in-class manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. Its brands have a global retail footprint across the luxury, specialty, department store, mid-tier, mass and e-commerce channels and in more than 8,500 freestanding stores and shop-in-shops around the world.
ABG’s portfolio of brands includes Marilyn Monroe®, Elvis Presley®, Muhammad Ali®, Shaquille O’Neal®, David Beckham®, Dr. J®, Greg Norman®, Neil Lane®, Thalia®, Sports Illustrated®, Reebok®, Eddie Bauer®, Spyder®, Volcom®, Airwalk®, Nautica®, Izod®, Forever 21®, Aéropostale®, Juicy Couture®, Vince Camuto®, Lucky Brand®, Nine West®, Jones New York®, Frederick’s of Hollywood®, Adrienne Vittadini®, Van Heusen®, Arrow®, Tretorn®, Tapout®, Prince®, Vision Street Wear®, Brooks Brothers®, Barneys New York®, Judith Leiber®, Herve Leger®, Frye®, Hickey Freeman®, Hart Schaffner Marx®, Thomasville®, Drexel® and Henredon®.
For more information, visit www.authenticbrands.com.
SOURCE: Authentic Brands Group (ABG)