Powers explained<\/a> that part of the reason he stepped down now as CEO was to \u201cget out of Stefano\u2019s way.\u201d Caroti, who was the company\u2019s chief commercial officer, took over from Powers upon his retirement earlier this year.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to give Stefano the opportunity [to lead Deckers], because he\u2019s the right guy for the job right now,\u201d Powers said. \u201cHe\u2019s going to take this company to the next level. Way beyond where I was able to. So, the timing felt great for me, personally. I think it felt great for the business. And it\u2019s also creating opportunities for Stefano and others in the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here, Powers reflects on the many ups and downs of his footwear journey and important lessons learned along the way.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What has been your proudest moment in your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dave Powers:<\/strong> \u201cCertainly, the success coming out of the activist battle in 2017. I mean, we almost lost the company there, right? But we were able to protect our brands. If we had lost that activist battle, then Deckers wouldn\u2019t be Deckers anymore. So winning that battle, that whole year coming out of it was super rewarding for the employees and myself. And then, when you look at how we were able to turn the business around from that point, when we were stagnant and had negative growth, and turning that around to a 20-plus operating margin and close to $5 billion market cap, I still can\u2019t believe it, to be honest with you. So certainly, from a personal perspective, seeing what employees did to rally around that and make it happen, you couldn\u2019t ask for more.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What have been some of the biggest hurdles for you over the years?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
DP:<\/strong> \u201cOne is adversity in business and going through down times in business. It forces you to really dig deep. But the best part about that is you come out with a better understanding of what success is going to take, and you just continue to apply that forward. Looking back, I\u2019ve been through challenges at Gap, when that business started to downturn and we had to refigure the merchandizing and the product. And at Timberland, with the yellow boot and trying to offset the decline of that in some cases. And then certainly at Deckers with the Ugg boot and the trend challenges \u2014 and with the activist investor situation. You know, Hoka wouldn\u2019t be here today if we had lost that activist battle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What has been some of the best advice you\u2019ve received and then passed on?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
DP:<\/strong> \u201cOne of the things that I learned from my dad was that it\u2019s always about the kids. Every decision you make should be what\u2019s best for the kids. And so, I\u2019ve taken that into the business world in the form of what\u2019s best for our employees, what\u2019s best for our customers. Other than that, stay humble, stay hungry, keep your head down, do good work. But the best advice is really to focus on what\u2019s best for the people in your company who do the hard work, and then the rest will figure itself out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next for you in post-retirement?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
DP:<\/strong> \u201cRight now, I am enjoying more free time with my family. I tell you what, it\u2019s been amazing to have the time to be able to reflect on how hard we all work. This business is nonstop. It\u2019s never easy, but you know, if you do it in a way that\u2019s true to your integrity, and you find success, it can be the most rewarding thing in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For 38\u00a0years, the annual FN Achievement Awards \u2014 often called the \u201cShoe Oscars\u201d \u2014 have celebrated the style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans. The 2024\u00a0event is supported by sponsors Listrak, Marc Fisher, Nordstrom and Vibram.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After eight years at the helm of Deckers Brands, the former chief executive reflects on his storied career as he starts a new chapter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190673879,"featured_media":1234737480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"authors":[],"contributors":[],"styled_by":[],"_image_credit":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","pmc_selected_wwd_video_media":"","pmc_top_video_source":"","pmc_top_video_duration":"","wwd_top_video_source":"","wwd_top_video_duration":"","pmc_selected_featured_media":"","pmc_selected_video_media":"","pmc_selected_variety_video_media":"","variety_top_video_source":"","variety_top_video_duration":"","pmc_featured_media_has_alt_text":true,"_pmc_featured_animated_media_id":0,"_pmc_featured_video_override_data":"","_pmc_featured_video_override_url":"","pmc-gallery-linked-gallery":{},"pmc_list_item_description":"","primary_category":"","primary_vertical":"","_mt_pmc_exclude_from_seo":"","pmc-gallery":[],"categories":179,"subcategories":378251816,"mt_seo_title":"Dave Powers to Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame at FNAA 2024","mt_seo_description":"Dave Powers, who recently stepped down as president and CEO of Deckers Brands, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at FNAA 2024 on Wednesday.","mt_pmc_exclude_from_seo":"off","_pmc_canonical_override":"","instant_articles_should_submit_post":false,"_sailthru_selected_alerts":[],"_sailthru_send_override":false,"_sailthru_alert_subject":"","_sailthru_breaking_news_meta_data":[],"experimental_features_inline_styles":"","linked_video_id":"","pmc_hubs_hide_header":false,"override_post_title":"","override_post_excerpt":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2024-12-03T17:08:20Z","apple_news_api_id":"e3ffe485-eb45-4099-ab83-15a24914d5fd","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2024-12-03T17:13:21Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A4__khetFQJmrgxWiSRTV_Q","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"[]","_pmc_automated_related_links":{"settings":{"module_name":"Related","hide_box":0},"data":[{"url":"","id":"","title":"","automated":true},{"url":"","id":"","title":"","automated":true},{"url":"","id":"","title":"","automated":true}]},"overlay_text_placement":[],"overlay_text_one":[],"overlay_text_two":[],"kicker_meta_block_field":[],"_pmc_kicker":[],"pmc_multiple_products_title":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[179,378251816],"tags":[378247954,378240387,376358185,378236353],"post_format":[],"_post-options":[],"pmc_ads_suppression":[],"editorial":[378246937,378246939],"ep_custom_result":[],"coauthors":[378249663],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Hall of Fame Honoree Dave Powers Reflects on Storied Career After Stepping Down as Deckers CEO Ahead of FNAA 2024","url":"http:\/\/footwearnews.com\/business\/business-news\/dave-powers-hall-of-fame-fnaa-2024-1234737481\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/footwearnews.com\/business\/business-news\/dave-powers-hall-of-fame-fnaa-2024-1234737481\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/footwearnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/HOF-Dave-Powers.jpg?w=150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/footwearnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/HOF-Dave-Powers.jpg"},"articleSection":"Business News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Stephen Garner"}],"creator":["Stephen Garner"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Footwear News","logo":"https:\/\/footwearnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/cropped-fn_favicon2.png"},"keywords":["dave powers","deckers brands","fnaa","hall of fame","business","business news","daily headlines","two column \u2013 daily"],"dateCreated":"2024-12-03T17:08:01Z","datePublished":"2024-12-03T17:08:01Z","dateModified":"2024-12-03T17:13:08Z","pmc-gallery-linked-gallery":{}},"rendered":"