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Sweaty Betty CEO and COO to leave after £300 million takeover

By Nagasunder in UK Business News, posted March 21, 2023

Sweaty Betty's chief executive Julia Straus and chief operating officer Mark Smith are to leave the company, the company has confirmed.

Their exits follow the sportswear retailer's acquisition by Wolverine Worldwide, a US-based lifestyle footwear company, for about £300 million in August 2021.

While Straus and Smith are now looking for replacements, they will leave the company in the summer.

A statement said: “Sweaty Betty confirms that after five years at Sweaty Betty, and growing the business threefold, CEO Julia Straus has taken the tough decision to leave the company to enable her to move back to the United States with her husband later this year and raise their daughters closer to family.

“Julia will continue in the role until June, playing a key part in selecting her successor, and will also be actively involved in the handover period beyond that to ensure a seamless transition period.

“COO Mark Smith has also decided that this year is the right time to leave Sweaty Betty to pursue new opportunities. Mark joined the business in 2011 and has overseen a retail expansion of the brand from 15 stores to 90 plus stores in that time, and a tenfold growth in revenue.

“Mark will also stay in position over the summer to oversee the interview process for his successor and an extremely smooth transition overall.”

After entering as managing director in July 2018, Straus became the company's CEO in June 2019.

She spent three years as the CEO of the cosmetics company Tula prior to Sweaty Betty.

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Smith formerly served as managing director and finance director for the Vietnamese restaurant chain Pho before accepting the post of a chief operating officer at the sportswear store in September 2018.

Source: Retail Gazette