Reed Dickens is retaining his ownership stake in Marucci Sports and will remain on the board of directors, but he’s no longer CEO of the Baton Rouge baseball bat manufacturer.
Since taking over as CEO in August 2009, Dickens says, the plan was always for him to step away once the Marucci brand had established a national presence. His handpicked successor, Brett Stohlton, has taken over as CEO as the company begins what Reed calls a “36 month period of really extreme growth.”
“We’re going to be taking a lot of market share in the aluminum market over the next several years,” Dickens says, adding that the company is expanding the number of national retailers carrying its bats. “We’re also going to be expanding into categories and products outside of just bats.”
Marucci co-founder Kurt Ainsworth says Dickens’ move represents “a transition from brand building to operations execution.” Dickens says he recruited Stohlton about two years ago and has been grooming him to take over as CEO ever since.
Stohlton, who has moved his family to Baton Rouge from California, most recently served as CFO of the company. Dickens—who is also CEO and founder of communications firm Outside Eyes—says he’s currently traveling the country and vetting new business opportunities.
“I’m still going to be actively involved at Marucci, and I’m really excited about this next phase the company is entering, but I’m also going to be looking at getting involved in other brand opportunities,” he says. “I’m a brand junkie; that’s what I do.” Check out a Business Report profile of Dickens from 2010, when he was among the year’s class of Forty Under 40, here.
