Wolverine World Wide Inc. has appointed Melissa Mullen global brand president of Sweaty Betty, the premium women’s activewear brand acquired by Wolverine in August 2021.

Mullen, a seasoned consumer-focused and omnichannel retail leader, held various senior executive roles with fashion athletic, and footwear brands. Since 2019 she served as vp and general manager of U.K. and Ireland for Jo Malone London, which is owned by the Estée Lauder Cos. She was accountable for all business operations in those two markets, including stores, e-commerce and wholesale.

Prior to joining Jo Malone London, Mullen worked at Nike for greater than eight years in quite a lot of e-commerce and merchandising roles in Europe, Asia and North America. These included serving as senior director of Nike Direct Retail within the U.K. and Ireland, and as senior director of Nike.com global expansion.

Mullen will report back to Isabel Soriano, president of Wolverine Worldwide’s London-based International Group, aligning the brand with the corporate’s other international businesses and enabling the teams to leverage strengths and resources across functions. She succeeds Julia Straus, who as previously announced, is returning to the U.S. together with her family.

“Melissa’s proven track record with consumer-obsessed global athletic and fashion brands makes her the best leader to assist propel Sweaty Betty forward,” Soriano said in an announcement Monday. “Her deep omnichannel experience and industry knowledge will help position the brand for long-term success.”

“Wolverine Worldwide’s strategy includes focusing our efforts and investments on Sweaty Betty and other key brands inside our portfolio,” Brendan Hoffman, Wolverine Worldwide’s chief executive officer, said in an announcement. “I’m confident Melissa will help unlock Sweaty Betty’s global growth potential and forge even stronger connections with its consumers around the globe.”

“When the chance arose to steer Sweaty Betty, a brand rooted in purpose and deep consumer connections, I knew I needed to be a part of the following chapter of its story,” Mullen said. She said her mission was to grow the business and empower women through fitness.

The Sweaty Betty appointment is the second major announcement regarding executive changes at Wolverine for the reason that end of May, when Chris Hufnagel was appointed president, accountable for leading and driving strategy across the corporate’s portfolio of footwear brands, together with leading its consumer marketing and insights teams.

Wolverine also promoted Janice Tennant to global brand president of Merrell and Rob Griffiths to global brand president of Saucony. Tennant and Griffiths each report back to Hufnagel who reports to Hoffman.

Wolverine made its first major foray into women’s apparel by purchasing Sweaty Betty in an all-cash transaction valued at $410 million. Wolverine acquired the shares of Lady of Leisure InvestCo Ltd., the entity that owns the Sweaty Betty brand, from private equity firm L Catterton and other shareholders. L Catterton invested in Sweaty Betty in 2015.

Apart from Sweaty Betty, Wolverine’s portfolio of brands includes Merrell, Saucony, Sperry, Hush Puppies, Wolverine, Chaco, Bates, HyTest and Stride Rite. Wolverine can also be the worldwide footwear licensee of Cat and Harley-Davidson.