Academy Sports & Outdoors Names New Supply Chain Chief

Academy Sports and Outdoors has named Robert (Rob) Howell to the role of senior vice president and chief supply chain officer. In this role, he will oversee supply chain operations, distribution centers, and domestic & international logistics. Howell will join the retailer in February 2024 and report to Sam Johnson, company president.

Howell brings nearly 30 years of supply chain, distribution, and logistics experience to Academy. Previously, he spent nearly 20 years with Sysco Corporation, a wholesale restaurant food distributor, where he performed various supply chain, logistics, and merchandising leadership roles. 

At Sysco, he most recently served as chief supply chain strategy officer to lead global supply chain strategy and transformation initiatives, including the development of omnichannel capabilities across the supply chain, network strategies for multiple countries, and customized supply chain solutions for large customers. 

Prior to Sysco, Howell held roles at CSC Consulting and Randalls Food Market/Tom Thumb. 

“Rob is a proven leader with a record of driving strategic initiatives and optimizing operations to achieve supply chain excellence and cost savings, which will be valuable to Academy as we execute on our long-term growth initiative to leverage and scale our supply chain function to enable industry leading growth," Johnson said.

Howell succeeds Sherry Harriman, who recently left Academy to pursue other opportunities.