Shoe Carnival CEO Cliff Sifford will step down after nine years at the helm of the footwear retailer. Current President and Chief Customer Officer Mark Worden has been unanimously elected by the company’s Board of Directors to fill his shoes.
Worden will take over as President and CEO on Sept. 30, 2021, after which Sifford will continue to serve as Vice Chairman of the Board.
“When Mark joined Shoe Carnival nearly three years ago, our objective was to bring on board an executive officer who would be positioned to take over as CEO at the right time,” said Sifford in a statement. “Mark has made tremendous contributions to Shoe Carnival, and I have enjoyed working alongside him over the past several years. His strategic direction, deep knowledge of our customers, digital expertise, and unwavering commitment to our employees makes him the perfect fit for this role.”
Sifford began his career with Shoe Carnival in 1997 and has served as CEO since 2012, during which time the company grew revenues to over $1 billion, achieved 11 consecutive years of comparable store sales growth leading into fiscal 2020 and launched an ecommerce platform.
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“Cliff has been an extraordinary leader in the shoe industry for over four decades and at Shoe Carnival for the past 24 years,” said J. Wayne Weaver, Chairman of Shoe Carnival’s Board of Directors in a statement. “[Mark] and Cliff have worked tirelessly over the last three years to develop an industry-leading management team, and the Board believes they will achieve great things as they work together in their new roles going forward.”
In a sign of the strength of the business, Shoe Carnival also announced that the Board has increased the quarterly cash dividend from $0.09 to $0.14 per share. This will be effective for the next quarterly cash dividend, which will be paid on April 19, 2021.
