Zumiez, Inc. Appoints Foot Locker, Inc. Vet to Board

Zumiez, Inc. Appoints Foot Locker, Inc. Vet to Board

Zumiez, Inc. appointed Guy M. Harkless to its Board of Directors to serve as an independent Class II director for a term expiring at the company’s 2025 annual meeting of shareholders. Harkless will also serve on Zumiez Audit Committee.

Zumiez, Inc. disclosed in an SEC filing that Harkless had served from August 2015 to April 2023 in operating and strategy roles for Foot Locker, Inc. Most recently, from July 2020 to April 2023, Harkless led the North American operations as SVP and general manager of the Champs Sports division, following roles leading Foot Locker’s Canadian subsidiary from October 2017 to June 2020 and as the global head of corporate strategy from August 2015 to September 2017.

Zumiez reported that Harkless had held commercial leadership, category and operational roles for Nike, Inc. and Puma SE, including leading Puma’s subsidiary for the Benelux countries of Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg from January 2011 to January 2014. Before that, Harkless was a founding partner and a member of the executive team of And 1 Basketball, including leading the international expansion for the European and Asia-Pacific regions. 

In the filing, Zumiez indicated that there are no arrangements or understandings between Harkless and any other persons pursuant to which he was selected as a director. 

The company reported that there are no transactions since the beginning of the company’s last fiscal year, or any currently proposed transactions, with the company to which Harkless was, or is to be, a party, in which he, or any member of his immediate family, has a direct or indirect material interest. 

Harkless has reportedly entered into a standard company director indemnification agreement, whereby the company agrees to indemnify, defend and hold directors harmless from and against losses and expenses incurred as a result of their board service, subject to the terms and conditions provided in the agreement.

Harkless will receive the same compensation as other non-employee company directors as described in the company’s 2023 Proxy Statement under the heading “Director Compensation.”