Wolverine Worldwide longtime executive Tom Kennedy has retired after 10 years with the Rockford, Mich.-based footwear company.
According to Wolverine, Kennedy, who has been with the company since 2015, retired in October.
Kennedy most recently served as president of the company’s Work Group, and oversaw the Wolverine, Bates, Cat Footwear, Harley-Davidson Footwear, HyTest, and Merrell Work brands.
Over his time at the company, Kennedy held several other key leadership roles, including global president of Sperry from 2017 to 2020 and president of apparel and accessories from 2015 to 2017. Prior to joining Wolverine Worldwide, Kennedy held senior leadership positions at Nike, Gap, Fossil, and PacSun.
As Kennedy departs, FN’s 2025 Company of the Year has appointed Justin Cupps as president of Wolverine Worldwide’s Work Group.
In this key leadership role, Cupps will oversee Wolverine, Bates, Cat Footwear, Harley-Davidson Footwear, HyTest, and Merrell Work. He will report directly to Chris Hufnagel, president and chief executive officer of Wolverine Worldwide, and join the company’s executive team.
Hufnagel said in a statement that Cupps is a “proven leader with deep experience and expertise in brand building, go-to-market commercial strategies, and driving growth.”
“His entrepreneurial spirit and team-first approach make him an ideal fit to lead the Work Group today as we drive to build awesome products and tell amazing stories – focused squarely on our consumer and ultimately delivering value to our shareholders,” the CEO noted.
Cupps joins Wolverine Worldwide with nearly 30 years of experience driving growth and innovation across global consumer brands such as Under Armour, Adidas, Gant and And 1.
Most recently, Cupps served as senior vice president of North America sport performance brands at EssilorLuxottica, where he led a $1.25 billion portfolio anchored by Oakley and Costa del Mar.
“Wolverine Worldwide is at an inflection point, and I’m thrilled to be joining the team,” Cupps said. “The Work Group brands possess tremendous heritage and authenticity, and at the same time are leaders in the industry today. I believe there’s tremendous opportunity and potential for these iconic brands and I’m energized by the journey ahead, including the chance to shape their great future while helping write the next amazing chapter for the company.”
The news comes the same day Wolverine Worldwide reported total revenue in the third quarter of 2025 was $470.3 million, up 6.8 percent from $440.2 million the same time last year.
Net earnings in the quarter were $25.1 million, up from $23.2 million the same time last year. Diluted earnings per share in Q3 were 30 cents, up from 28 cents the prior year’s period.
By brand, Saucony and Merrell led the way in Q3 in terms of growth. At Saucony, net sales in the period were $133.1 million, a 27.0 percent increase from $104.8 million the prior year. At Merrell, net sales were $167.3 million, a 5.1 percent increase from $159.2 million just a year ago.
At the company’s namesake Wolverine brand, net sales declined 8.2 percent to $45.3 million in the third quarter from $49.4 million the same time last year. And at Sweaty Betty, net sales decline 3.9 percent in Q3 to $44.5 million from $46.3 million.
On the company’s earnings call on Wednesday, Hufnagel admitted to analysts that the Wolverine brand and its Work Group “have not made the progress” executives anticipated.
“While I’m disappointed in our performance here, I believe we have a firm handle on the work that’s necessary to get this business back on track,” the CEO said. “Wolverine’s performance remains inconsistent. Our return to running a better brand and business is taking longer than we initially anticipated. This said, we believe we have diagnosed the challenges. And effectively using our proven playbook and return the brand to steady growth in the future.”
Hufnagel added that Cupps addition to the team is a “win” for the company.
“I anticipate he’ll accelerate the needed progress here,” Hufnagel said. “We’re already well on the way to strengthen Wolverine’s product pipeline, enabling more thoughtful segmentation in the marketplace and bolstering trend-right products and premium price point offerings with collections like the Rancher Pro, the USA-built Workshop Wedge and the all-new Infinity System, the brand’s pinnacle expression of its performance comfort technology.”
