Malbon Golf Names Former Nike Exec as its First CEO

Stephen and Erica Malbon had a couple of goals when they created Malbon Golf in 2017. The married couple sought to build a community of people who loved the game but weren’t all that keen on its staid, traditional apparel choices. They were also determined to build a quality product that, while fashionable, could still withstand the rigors of the course.

Over the past seven years, the Malbons have succeeded in achieving those goals and have managed to break through and build a successful brand that has also partnered with everyone from Tag Heuer, Nike, New Balance and Prince to Bushmills whiskey and Budweiser.

But the brand has reached a tipping point and to continue its rapid growth, the Malbons knew they needed to bring on someone with strong experience in fashion. That executive is Aaron Heiser, a longtime Nike executive, who will take the reins as chief executive officer of Malbon Golf on Monday, reporting to the brand’s board of directors.

The Malbons will continue as co-chief creative officers and will also continue to serve on the board.

Heiser, who will now oversee all aspects of the Santa Monica, Calif.-based company, spent nearly 18 years at Nike, serving as global vice president of apparel, accessories and licensing where he was responsible for all aspects of product creation and merchandising. He also served as vice president and general manager of the Greater China retail division at Nike, was general manager of its Western European Nike stores, and also served as general merchandise manager of its U.S. stores. He left the company in June 2023.

His background also includes Armani Exchange, Tommy Hilfiger and Gap Inc. and he started his career as an assistant merchant at the Federated Merchandising Group.

“We did a year’s worth of interviewing before we decided on Aaron,” said Erica Malbon. “Steven and I started the brand in 2017 with a lot of passion, but not a lot of expertise in fashion and apparel.” But to continue to grow Malbon Golf from a business standpoint, they realized they needed someone with solid industry expertise and Heiser fit the bill. Erica Malbon pointed to his “almost lifetime of experience at a large sports brand that we admire” as key to the hire.

“Stephen and I are excited for this next chapter for Malbon,” she added. “We searched high and low to find the person that we felt would align with the culture that we have built yet understands the inner working of a global lifestyle and sports apparel business. Aaron checked our boxes and we couldn’t be more enthusiastic about him joining the team.”

Her husband said he was proud that they had managed to achieve their goals to “curate a community” of like-minded people while building a brand with great product. “But as entrepreneurs, when you make decisions using your gut instinct and your heart,” it’s not always the best strategy, he said, and it was time to bring in an outsider with a fresh perspective.

“What Stephen and Erica have built is absolutely incredible, and something I’m not sure I have seen in the industry before,” Heiser said. “Malbon truly has become a global community that bridges diverse backgrounds, celebrates individuality and fosters camaraderie both on and off the golf course. To say it is absolutely on fire as a brand would be an understatement, and I look forward to working with the entire team to supercharge that momentum and achieve the next phase of growth and development.”

He added that the brand “has power far bigger than the size of the company today. It’s a real juggernaut and they have created a brand profile people want to be part of. Now it’s time to scale that to a wider audience.” They declined to provide a volume figure for the company.

They acknowledged that the fashion landscape is littered with brands whose founders brought in an outsider to run the business and the result was not good when they began to butt heads. But they’re convinced that won’t be the case at Malbon Golf.

“I’m very aware of the situation,” Heiser said. “I’ve seen it work in some instances and crash and burn in others. But constant communication is number one. The real secret sauce at Malbon is Erica and Stephen. They’ve made it clear where they want to continue to play and where I have the capability to make the brand bigger. We’re all aligned on where we want to see this brand go.”

Erica Malbon added that not only was Heiser’s background key to the hire, it was his personality as well.

Stephen Malbon added: “We’re not a publicly traded company so there’s no pressure from shareholders to continue to grow at a high rate. I like to design and produce storytelling content and we don’t want too many cooks in the kitchen doing the same thing.”

Stephen Malbon has been a fan of the game of golf since he was 12, but because his peers had no interest in the sport, he gave it up for many years. He returned to the game a few years later, taking a job as a caddie during college and playing when he could during school and when he launched a creative agency, Frank151, that worked with clients such as Toyota, ESPN, Coca-Cola and others. He also published a streetwear-skewed magazine of the same name.  

Erica Malbon was also entrepreneurial, founding The Now, a spa and massage parlor.

In addition to the golf apparel and accessories, Malbon Golf also operates stores in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Carmel, Calif., in the U.S. as well as units in Asia and Europe.