Academy Sports and Outdoors names Carl Ford chief financial officer

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Jul 12, 2023

Sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. announced on Tuesday the promotion of Carl Ford to executive vice president and chief financial officer. 

In this role, effective July 12, Ford will oversee finance, accounting, tax, treasury, loss prevention, internal audit, and investor relations. He succeeds Michael Mullican, who recently transitioned to president. 

"I am thrilled to announce the promotion of Carl Ford to chief financial officer," said Mullican. "He has an incredible financial acumen and track record of driving positive results at Academy. He played an integral role in helping us navigate the pandemic, achieve our previous long-range plan, as well as supporting our IPO and the development of our new long-range plan. I'm confident Carl and his team will continue to be excellent stewards of our capital as they drive value for our shareholders.”

Ford joined Academy in January 2019 as senior vice president, finance. Prior to that, he served as vice president of financial planning & analysis at Belk, Inc. where he spent 15 years. During his time at Belk, he also served as the vice president of internal audit and held leadership roles in accounting and treasury. 

"I'm humbled and excited for the opportunity to lead our finance organization into the future," said Ford. "Under Michael's leadership, we developed a strong financial team, redefined business processes, and established Academy within the financial community. The company has a strong balance sheet and solid cash flow to support our growth and create value for our shareholders.  I look forward to partnering with Steve and Michael as we focus on long-term growth and profitability as we pursue our vision of becoming the best sports and outdoors retailer in the country.”

The Katy, Texas-based company currently operates 270 stores across 18 states offering an assortment that focuses on key categories of outdoor, apparel, footwear and sports and recreation from both national brands and a portfolio of private label brands.