Nike Inc. is not the only shoe firm that has a new financial sheriff. Genesco Inc. on Monday named Jonathan Collins as its new senior vice president, finance, and chief financial officer (CFO).
Collins, who begins his new position on Aug. 3, will report directly to Mimi Vaughn, Genesco chairman, president and chief executive officer. Vaughn also served as interim CFO since March 2026, following the departure of the former finance chief Cassandra “Sandra” Harris.
Collins most recently served as CFO at sales financing firm America’s Car-Mart Inc., and spent more than a decade, from 2012 to 2025, at Walmart in different leadership roles. While at Walmart, he was CFOof Walmart Africa, chief accounting officer of Flipkart Group, and chief accounting officer of Walmart Canada.
“Jonathan is an accomplished finance executive with an exceptional combination of public company leadership and multi-channel global retail expertise,” Vaughn said. “Throughout his career, he has demonstrated the ability to strengthen financial organizations, drive operational discipline and support profitable growth.”
Vaughn added that Collins has broad experience across consumer-facing, large-scale retail and e-commerce businesses, and combined with his strategic financial acumen, makes him an “outstanding addition” to the team as the company continues to execute on its First strategy.
“Genesco’s portfolio of powerful footwear brands and impactful Footwear First strategy create a compelling foundation for future growth with clear momentum underway,” Collins said.
Jefferies apparel, footwear and textiles analyst Corey Tarlowe has a “Hold” on shares of Genesco stock. “We are positive on the management change, especially as Genesco has strong momentum carrying into Q2,” he wrote in a Monday research update.
“We believe Genesco’s already announced $40 million to $50 million cost-savings program, alongside ongoing efficiencies, supports long term margin expansion,” Tarlowe said. “Therefore, we believe Mr. Collins is joining at a time when he could help drive incremental operational discipline, optimize capital allocaiton, and further execute on cost initiatives, but we believe Schuh will be a drag on the business for the near future.”
In the first quarter earnings conference call in May, Vaughn provided some takeaways on what’s on the agenda for Genesco.
First quarter results included a narrowed first quarter loss of $14.81 million, or $1.42 a diluted share, versus a net loss a year ago of $21.23 million, or $2.02 a diluted share, on a net sales increase of 3 percent to $487.03 million versus $473.97 million last year.
On the call, Vaughn said the company’s “Footwear First” strategy is heavily focused on back-to-school at its Journeys retail banner, with continued growth across both athletic and casual shoes. She also said that Genesco’s U.K.-based retail arm Schuh, which has seen heavy discounting due to a weaker consumer market, is planning a sharpened customer positioning and that Genesco sees the same opportunity to serve the style-led youth girl at Schuh that it saw at Journeys. For the second quarter, the company is planning for more athletically focused options, with price sensitivity and fewer trends than seen in the U.S.
The CFO shuffling appears to be ongoing as operational needs change due to different skill sets connected to international and artificial intelligence.
Last week saw Nike name David Denton as its new CFO, effective Aug. 17. That changing of the guard was due to the company’s move from “foundational actions” to its new “Sport Offense operating model,” according to Nike CEO Elliott Hill. In May, Frank Sluis joined On Holding as its new CFO.
CFO exits allows firms to zero in on strategies for long-term growth, and the types of executives with the skill sets to execute on those plans. The skill sets that were once solely on an understanding of balance sheet economics now need to include mergers and acquisitions, technology, sourcing and supply chain operations, in addition to the core shoe industry framework and retail and consumer landscapes.
