Dive Brief:
- Footwear company Deckers Brands promoted Marco Ellerker to the new role of president of global marketplace on Wednesday, according to a press release. The move becomes effective Aug.1.
- Ellerker is charged with overseeing the company’s omnichannel teams globally. He was most recently senior vice president and general manager of EMEA.
- Ellerker will report directly to incoming Deckers Brands CEO Stefano Caroti and will be a member of the executive leadership team.
Dive Insight:
Deckers Brands has promoted from within for the second time in as many months as it reshuffles its executive leadership team.
The company, which owns the Ugg, Koolaburra, Hoka, Teva, Sanuk and Ahnu brands, in early February named Chief Commercial Officer Caroti as the new president and CEO in preparation for the Aug. 1 retirement of current president and CEO Dave Powers. Powers will continue serving on the company’s board of directors through its 2025 annual meeting.
Ellerker’s hiring is the latest internal promotion. Since 2017, he has held several operational roles at the company.
“Marco has played a key role in the incredible success our brands have achieved on a global scale,” Powers said in a statement. "We are excited to have him in this role, and we are confident that he will build on our successful omni-channel strategy, together with our agile marketplace team, to continue to scale the success of our portfolio.”
The company in February reported third-quarter revenue for fiscal year 2024 increased 16% to a record $1.6 billion.The growth was propelled by an increase in DTC sales of 22.7% to $858.1 million and an 8.6% increase in wholesale sales to $702.2 million. The company’s third-quarter operating income also rose 34.5% year over year to $487.9 million with net income posting a 40% growth to $389.9 million.
"Over the last several years, we have worked diligently to establish a disciplined, consumer-centric approach to marketplace management that has resulted in significant growth across our brands,” Ellerker said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the whole Deckers team to continue executing on our strategy and capturing the many global opportunities ahead.”
Robin Green, who was tapped by Deckers to lead Hoka as its new president in February, has been the only recent top tier hire coming from the outside. Green was previously global vice president of Men’s Running and Fitness at Nike.
Deckers has been building its executive team over the last few years with new positions, long before announcing its CEO succession plan. In June 2022, Deckers announced that then-Chief Operating Officer David Lafitte was stepping down and leaving the company for another opportunity. The company also announced that the new role of chief supply chain officer would go to Angela Ogbechie, a 14-year company veteran at the time.
