Sports footwear and apparel brand Mizuno announced Thursday the promotion of Mark O’Brien to the newly created position of chief operating officer.
Since June 2015, O’Brien has been vice president of brand management and marketing for the company. In his new role, he will lead business strategy for Mizuno USA, including brand, product and sales management, and will report to Bob Puccini, Mizuno USA president and director of Mizuno Corporation.
The multi category company said the new leadership structure aligns brand, product and sales groups under central leadership and introduces a new vice president of product and sales for each specialty division. Each vice president will report to O’Brien. As a “challenger brand” in the competitive sports market, O’Brien said Mizuno needs to be able to respond and adapt quickly to consumers’ changing needs.
In a press release, Puccini said, “Mark’s insight and skill in navigating the complexities of the sporting goods marketplace will lead us to effectively compete in a marketing intensive and increasingly competitive consumer products environment. Moreover, Mark’s deeply rooted love of the Mizuno brand, combined with his heart, spirit and challenger mentality, made him the perfect match for this challenge and new position.”