Wolverine World Wide, Inc.

Greetings. Welcome to the Wolverine Worldwide Inc. Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are on a listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. Please note this conference is being recorded. I'll now turn the conference over to your host, Alex Wiseman, Vice President of Finance. You may begin.

Good morning and welcome to our second quarter 2023 conference call. On the call today are Tom Long, Chairman of the Board, Chris Huffnagle, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Mike Stornett, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Earlier this morning, we issued our earnings press release and announced our financial results for the second quarter 2023. The press release is available on many news sites and can be viewed on our corporate website at wolverineworldwide.com. This morning's earnings press release and comments made during today's earnings call include non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures were reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measures in attached tables within the body of the release. I'd also like to remind you that statements describing the company's expectations, plans, predictions, and projections, such as those regarding the company's outlook for fiscal 2023, growth opportunities, and trends expected to affect the company's future performance made during today's conference call are forward-looking statements under U.S. securities laws. As a result, we must caution you that there are a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These important risk factors are identified in the company's SEC filings and in our press releases. With that being said, I'd now like to turn the call over to Tom Long.

Thank you for joining today's call. Before the team discusses earnings, I'd like to address the leadership transition we announced today. Effective immediately, the board has appointed Chris Hufnagel to succeed Brendan Hoffman as CEO of Wolverine Worldwide. The board recognizes that Wolverine Worldwide needs to deliver improved financial performance, and the company must evolve to build brands that ignite consumer desire. We must ensure that everything we do begins with our product design, our brands, and the people that buy them. This can't merely be words. We have to develop the business systems, the management routines, and the consumer insights that drive excellence from the very top. We also must ensure that everything we do begins with our customers. Accordingly, the board has taken decisive action to appoint a CEO who brings the experience and leadership required to put the company on the right course. A few words on Chris's background. Chris has been an effective leader throughout his long tenure at Wolverine Worldwide, including as global brand president of the company's active group, which includes our two largest brands, Merrill and Saucony. Chris has covered almost every area of this company in increasingly dynamic leadership roles, And he also has extensive leadership experience in prior roles at Under Armour, The Gap, and Abercrombie & Fitch. The board elevated Chris to CEO for a few main reasons. Most importantly, he knows how to build brands, which is essential for our success. He's a decisive, high-energy leader who displays good judgment and a willingness to embrace change. He brings a demonstrated playbook that the board believes in from his prior strategic roles, a clear view of what needs to be improved now. Two specific examples help capture Chris's contributions to Wolverine over the years, and they speak to our confidence in his ability to lead the company. First, Chris led our first-ever Consumer Insights market intelligence team that drives customer obsession every day. I expect Chris to bring this operating philosophy to the entire business, building the focus on excellence and execution from the very top. Second, as Merrill brand president from 2021 to 2022, Chris led the brand to back-to-back all-time record revenues while more than doubling our e-commerce business. As a result of these successes and many others, Chris has built a large and loyal following inside Wolverine worldwide, and with the board. We are confident he will operate with urgency and focus for our shareholders. To our shareholders, it's no secret that our results have disappointed recently. However, we continue to believe that Wolverine Worldwide can deliver strong financial performance and attractive shareholder returns under the right leadership. We have no time to spare, and that's why we're announcing this change today. With that, I'll turn the call over to Chris Huffnagle, our Chief Executive Officer.