Edward W. Stack
American heir and businessman (born 1954/1955)
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Edward W. Stack (born 1954/1955) is an American billionaire businessman. In 1984, Stack took over as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Dick's Sporting Goods, a sports equipment retailing company founded in 1948 by his father, Richard "Dick" Stack. In February 2021, he was succeeded as CEO by Lauren Hobart.
Edward W. Stack | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1954 or 1955 (age 70–71)[1] |
| Education | St. John Fisher College (BAS, 1977) |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Title | Executive Chairman and CMO of Dick's Sporting Goods |
| Board member of | |
| Spouse | Donna A. Stack |
Early life and education
Edward W. Stack is the son of Richard "Dick" Stack,[1] who founded sports equipment retailer Dick's Sporting Goods in 1948.[2][3][4] He grew up in the East Side neighborhood of Binghamton, New York, attended public schools, and played baseball and football at Binghamton North High School.[1][5][6] Stack received a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree in accounting from St. John Fisher College in 1977.[1][2][4] He planned to become a lawyer, but opted to help run the family business after his father's health declined.[7]
Career
Stack and his siblings purchased Dick's from their father in the early 1980s, when the company had two locations in Upstate New York.[4][5][8] He became chairman and chief executive officer following his father's retirement in 1984.[2][3] Stack established a board of directors, opened additional stores, and relocated the company's headquarters to Pittsburgh in 1994.[4][9] He led the company during its initial public offering in 2002.[2][3]
Stack owned approximately 25 percent of the company's common stock, and controlled nearly two-thirds of its voting shares, as of 2010.[1] After selling 5.8 percent of his holdings in 2013, he owned around 20 percent of the company, primarily via Class B shares.[10][11] Following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in February 2018, Stack announced that Dick's and its subsidiaries would stop selling military pattern semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines, and would not sell firearms to people under the age of 21.[3] In addition, Stack reported to destroy $5 million worth of assault-style-type rifles then in Dick's inventory.[12][13][14] He has advocated for stronger gun control and worked to enact change by hiring lobbyists and meeting with politicians.[15][16][17]
Stack is estimated to have a net worth of US$1.2 billion as of February 2018.[3]
In February 2021, he was succeeded as CEO by Lauren Hobart.[18]
Board service
Stack has served on the boards of the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, KeyCorp,[19] the National Retail Federation,[20] and Seton Hall University,[7] as well as the advisory board of Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania's Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative.[21]
Recognition
In 1997, Stack ranked fourth in the "consumer-retailing/hardlines" category of magazine Institutional Investor's survey of the best chief American executives, and was named "Sports Executive Visionary of the Year" by magazine SportStyle.[22][23] He was named "Entrepreneur of the Year in Southwestern Pennsylvania" by Ernst & Young in 1999.[23] In 2005, Stack received a History Makers Award in the "business and industry" category from the Heinz History Center.[24] He was inducted into the National Sporting Goods Association's Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame in 2006.[23][25] Stack received a Humanity and Service Award from the Bus Stops Here Foundation in 2014, and a Major John H. Russell Leadership Award from Marine Corps University's foundation in 2015.[21] He was given an honorary degree of doctor of humane letters from his alma mater, after delivering a commencement speech in 2016.[26][27]
Personal life
Stack is married to Donna A. Stack.[28][2] In February 2015, the couple acquired an 8,946-square-foot home in North Palm Beach, Florida, for $12 million.[28] He is married, and lives in Sewickley, Pennsylvania with Donna.[2]
