Asics America Strengthens Leadership Team With New Execs

Asics America Strengthens Leadership Team With New Execs

Asics America Corp. named Barbara Turner as vice president of human resources and Lisa Hatton Harrington as general counsel.

Turner will oversee the human resources function for the company’s largest region, inclusive of North and South America. Harrington is responsible for overseeing the entire legal department, compliance, corporate social responsibility and internal audit in her role as general counsel.

As the industry continues to dynamically shift, Turner and Harrington will be instrumental in meeting the growing and evolving needs of the business to outpace that rate of change. Both will serve as key members on the leadership team under Gene McCarthy, Asics America Group CEO and president, who has spent the last year focused on building a dynamic new executive team with unique backgrounds, diverse perspectives and experience across a range of industries.  This group has been hand selected to take the brand to the next level as part of the global vision to become the most important sports and lifestyle brand in the region by 2020.

Turner will be responsible for developing and executing human resource strategy, driving and implementing human resource operations and acquiring top talent, as well as guiding and development of employees. Holding nearly 20 years of human resource management experience, Turner will also serve as a key member of the executive leadership team.

Harrington brings a wealth of legal and business expertise, and is responsible for strategy and risk management, corporate governance, business and contractual negotiations, regulatory compliance and litigation management. With more than 20 years of legal experience, her previous roles spanned the technology, media, insurance, commerce, fashion, aviation and entertainment industries.

“Barbara and Lisa bring immense energy, enthusiasm and a proven track record to lead and be instrumental in fostering change,” said McCarthy. “Human resources and general counsel are both critical roles within our organization and the in-depth knowledge that they bring to their respective disciplines is essential to drive our brand forward.”

Prior to Asics, Turner served as senior director of human resources at Meruelo Enterprises Inc. and held similar positions at Southern California Edison. She holds certifications as a Senior Professional in Human Resources from the Human Resources Certification Institute (SPHR) as well as the Society for Human Resource Management as a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).

Before Harrington joined Asics, she was general counsel at Surf Airlines, and division general counsel at NBCUniversal and UnumProvident.  Harrington currently serves on the executive board of the Association of Corporate Counsel as secretary for the Southern California chapter.  She has received many awards and recognitions for her outstanding performance and leadership in the legal community and she is a frequent speaker and panelist at industry events. She attended USC Gould School of Law and UCLA for her undergraduate work.