Academy Sports promotes Sam Johnson to President

Academy Sports announced that Sam Johnson, Executive VP of Retail Operations, will become President, succeeding Michael Mullican, who is stepping down to pursue other personal and professional opportunities. Johnson has served as EVP of Retail Operations and a member of the executive leadership team since joining Academy in April 2017. Prior to joining the company, Johnson spent seven years with hhgregg, where he most recently served as Chief Retail Officer and led various functions including store operations, customer relations, commercial sales, real estate and visual merchandising. Prior to hhgregg, he spent more than 20 years in various leadership roles with Sears Holdings Corporation, including Vice President of Small Stores. Eric Friederich has been promoted to Senior VP of Retail Operations, succeeding Johnson as the head of store operations. Friederich has been with Academy since November 2016, most recently as Regional Vice President of East Region Stores and previously as Senior Director of Communication and Merchandise Execution and as a District Manager.