TORONTO AND CALGARY, Aug. 18, 2011 /CNW/ - Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (TSX: CTC, TSX: CTC.a) ("Canadian Tire") and The Forzani Group Ltd. (TSX: FGL) ("FGL") announced today a new executive team for FGL comprised of top talent from the existing FGL and Canadian Tire executive teams.

Michael Medline, former President of Canadian Tire's automotive business unit, has been appointed as the new President of FGL.  Michael led the acquisition of FGL for Canadian Tire and has become deeply familiar with FGL's operations over the past 10 months.  As President he will work to support the FGL brand and drive customer and employee engagement to ensure the company's continued performance and growth. Michael has a long history of excellence in leadership at Canadian Tire, including successfully leading the acquisition and integration of Mark's by Canadian Tire in 2001.

Gregory Craig has has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer for FGL, responsible for overall financial accounting and reporting, planning, forecasting and treasury-related activities.  Previously, Gregory was Vice President, Financial Planning and Analysis for Canadian Tire, Vice President, Finance at Canadian Tire Financial Services, and Chief Financial Officer at Canadian Tire Bank.

The eleven-person executive team was chosen to combine the strongest skills of both companies with a mandate to generate significant growth at FGL.  FGL is widely recognized as Canada's leading sports retailer.  Combined with its existing strong sports category, Canadian Tire is creating Canada's ultimate authority in sporting hard goods, soft goods, footwear and accessories for Canadian consumers.

In addition to Michael and Gregory, the new FGL executive team includes the following appointments:

Richard White has been appointed as the Senior Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer, with responsibility for merchandise strategy, vendor direction and determining product assortment for all stores.  This is an expansion of Richard's previous role on the FGL executive team as he adds responsibility for FGL's wholesale and private label divisions.

Chad McKinnon has been appointed as the Senior Vice President, Corporate Operations, responsible for all aspects of corporate store operations, including customer service and training and visual presentation.  Chad was previously on the FGL executive team in this same role.

Jean-Stéphane Tremblay has been appointed as Executive Vice President, Franchise, responsible for the FGL Franchise Division and the Atheletes World Ltd. corporate banner.  Jean-Stéphane was previously on the FGL executive team in this same role.

Duncan Fulton has been appointed as the Senior Vice President, Communications and Chief Marketing Officer, with responsibility for marketing, advertising, e-commerce and communications.  Duncan takes on these new responsibilities in addition to his job as Senior Vice President of Communications and Corporate Affairs with Canadian Tire.

Keith Lambert has been appointed as the Senior Vice President, Supply Chain and Merchandise Management, responsible for inventory management, distribution centre operations, overall supply chain strategies and vendor policy agreements.  Keith was previously on the FGL executive team in this same role.

Matthew Handford has been appointed as the Senior Vice President, Human Resources, with responsibility for the strategic direction and execution of all people-related strategies and programs for FGL.  Matt was previously on the FGL executive team in this same role.

Kristine Freudenthaler has been appointed as the Senior Vice President, Information Technology, Chief Information Officer and Chief Integration Officer, with responsibility for developing enterprise-wide technology governance and strategies.  Kristine takes on these new responsibilities as an extension of her current role as Senior Vice President, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer with Canadian Tire.

Doug Nathanson has been appointed as the Chief Legal Counsel, responsible for all aspects of FGL's legal operations.  Doug takes on these new responsibilities in addition to his current role as Vice President and Associate General Counsel with Canadian Tire.

Trent Holfeld has been appointed as the Vice President, Real Estate Development, with responsibility for the real estate development program and oversight of the real estate market analysis initiatives.  Trent takes on these new responsibilities in addition to his job as the Vice President of Real Estate Development for Canadian Tire.

Former FGL President and Chief Operating Officer, Thomas Quinn, will continue to provide strategic counsel to the new FGL executive team in a consulting capacity.

"It's rare that you have the opportunity to establish an executive team from two pools of top talent," said Stephen Wetmore, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Tire.  "We have appointed a great mix of skills and experience, coupled with previous executives from Forzani and new executives from Canadian Tire.  I am confident that this is the team to lead Forzani on a path of strong growth.

"Michael Medline is a natural choice as our lead executive to drive growth at FGL.  We are combining Michael's passion for sports and experience in leading large organizations with a highly-talented executive team that brings the best of our organizations together," continued Wetmore.

"I want to personally thank Bob Sartor for his tremendous leadership at Forzani and for growing Canada's leading sports retailer into the success it is today.  I am also pleased that Thomas Quinn has agreed to be part of our team going forward and continue to provide his valuable strategic counsel to the new executive team," concluded Wetmore.

ABOUT CANADIAN TIRE

Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (TSX:CTC.a) (TSX:CTC) is one of Canada's most-shopped general retailers, offering everyday products and services to Canadians through more than 1,200 retail and gasoline outlets from coast-to-coast. Our primary retail business categories - Automotive, Living, Fixing, Playing and Apparel - are supported and strengthened by our Financial Services division, which offers such products and services as credit cards, retail deposits, in-store financing, product warranties, and insurance. Nearly 57,000 people are employed across the Canadian Tire enterprise, which was founded in 1922 and remains one of Canada's most recognized and trusted brands.

ABOUT THE FORZANI GROUP LTD.

The Forzani Group Ltd. is one of Canada's leading retailers of sporting goods, offering a comprehensive assortment of brand-name and private-brand products, operating stores from coast to coast, under the following corporate and franchise banners: Sport Chek, Sport Mart, Athletes World, National Sports, Sports Experts, Intersport, Atmosphere, Tech Shop, Nevada Bob's Golf, Hockey Experts, The Fitness Source and S3. Forzani also has websites for several of its corporate and franchise banners which can be accessed through its main website at www.forzanigroup.com

Forward-Looking Information:
This press release contains certain statements that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to Canadian Tire, the Offeror, Forzani and their respective operations. This forward-looking information relates to, among other things, the Offer and the completion of the acqusition. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of such words as "may", "will", "expect", "believe", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "outlook", "forecast", "should", "anticipate" and other similar terminology, including statements concerning possible or assumed future results. Forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions, analysis and estimates of the management of Canadian Tire and Forzani in respect of their respective experience and perception of trends, current economic conditions and expected developments, as well as other material factors considered to be relevant at the time of making such statements.

By its nature, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which give rise to the possibility that these assumptions, analysis and estimates will be incorrect and that anticipated results will not be achieved. Although the management of both Canadian Tire and Forzani believe that the statements with respect to forward-looking information are reasonable and current, such statements should not be interpreted as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be an accurate indication of whether or not such results will be achieved. Forward-looking information is necessarily subject to a number of factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those results implied by the expectations suggested by such information. Those factors include, without limitation, the completion of any second stage transaction and those risks and uncertainties described in the Annual Information Forms of Canadian Tire and Forzani filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada available at www.sedar.com.

When relying on the forward-looking information to make decisions with respect to Canadian Tire or Forzani, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors, but are strongly cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and other factors could adversely affect the performance of Canadian Tire or Forzani. Investors and other readers are encouraged to consider the foregoing risks and other factors carefully when evaluating the forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon such information when making investment decisions. The forward-looking information in this press release is current to the date hereof, and is subject to change following such date. While Canadian Tire and/or Forzani may elect to do so, unless required by applicable law, neither undertakes, and each expressly disclaims, any obligation to update this information to reflect new information or circumstances at any particular time.