Doug Fonte Retires … This Time Permanently!
March 26, 2008
Bordentown, NJ – March 26, 2008 –- In the spring of 2005 Doug Fonte came out of retirement to help rebuild the Prince brand in the United States. A little more than a year later he added responsibility for Canada and Latin America and took on the title of President – Prince Americas. His timing was wonderful.
Prince had just launched O3 – the Company’s award-winning racquet technology – and was in the early stages of its rebirth.
Today, with Prince on a positive upward path, he is going back into retirement, effective May 1, 2008.
“This time it’s permanent” Fonte said. “Getting back in the tennis industry, contributing to the revival of Prince, working with George Napier (the Prince Chairman and CEO) and the terrific Prince team over the past three years has been a lot of fun and very rewarding, but now is the right time to let a younger generation take the company to the next level. Our brand is in great shape, we have several exciting new products and growth initiatives, either in the pipeline or underway, and the team is fully engaged.”
Commenting on Doug’s retirement, and the future, Napier said “Doug’s a strong competitor, a clear thinker, and a good friend. Working with him the past three years has been really good for our team and a privilege for me. Although Doug is leaving his management role, he will stay connected to Prince as a consultant – through 2009 – and as a Prince ambassador to several organizations including the Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education Center (AAYTE) in Philadelphia and the International Tennis Hall of Fame.”
Napier went on to thank Fonte for his contributions and leadership and wished him much happiness in retirement. “I’m expecting to get a few more strokes when we play golf,” Napier said.
As for the future, Napier commented, “I fully expect to fill Doug’s role when the time is right. In the meanwhile I’m proud of the team we have in place at Prince – they are a terrific group of managers and leaders – and I’m looking forward to working directly with each of them…hopefully contributing something to their on-going, tireless pursuit of making Prince the best sporting goods company on the planet.”
