Wolverine World Wide announced that its board of directors has appointed Christopher Hufnagel to chief executive officer and as a member of the board of directors, effective immediately.

Hufnagel succeeds Brendan L. Hoffman, who is no longer with the company. Hufnagel was named president of Wolverine in May of this year.

Hufnagel joined Wolverine Worldwide in 2008 and has served in leadership roles across the organization.

“Wolverine Worldwide maintains some of the world’s most recognizable and loved lifestyle and footwear brands, and transforming our business to bring the full power of these brands to life will be a key driver of our success,” said Hufnagel.

“I have had the privilege of working with many teams across this organization over the past 15 years, and we have what it takes to build a stronger, more resilient company.”

Before his appointment as president in May 2023, he was president of the company’s Active Group with responsibility for Merrell, Saucony, Chaco, the Kids Group, and Global Licensing.

He has also served as Wolverine Worldwide’s global brand president of Merrell and global brand president of CAT Footwear.

In earlier roles at the company, he was president of direct-to-consumer and senior vice president of strategy.

Prior to joining Wolverine Worldwide, Hufnagel held senior leadership roles at Under Armour, Gap, and Abercrombie & Fitch.

“Chris has a demonstrated track record of successfully building global brands, and he has a deep understanding of the company, our people, and our priorities,” said Tom Long, chairman of the Wolverine Worldwide Board of Directors. “We are confident in the company’s overarching strategy, and in Chris and the team’s ability to execute it with substantially enhanced urgency and boldness.”