John Embree ‘Goes Green’ Becoming New President of Prince Americas
April 15, 2008
Bordentown, NJ – April 14, 2008 -– Prince Sports, Inc. is proud and excited to announce that John Embree will be joining the Company as its new President of Prince Americas, leading the charge for the brand in the United States, Latin America and Canada and reporting directly to Chairman and CEO of Prince Sports, Inc. George Napier.
John has had a successful career in the racquet sports industry, most notably his more than seventeen year stint with Wilson Sporting Goods where he rose to be the VP and General Manager of their global racquet sports division before leaving in 2003.
“Adding John’s leadership to our already strong team and great brand will accelerate our drive to ‘take the racquet sports hill’,” said Napier. “I am confident the vast majority of the USA dealer community will be thrilled when this news spreads and our entire team will benefit from John’s sharp mind and relentless passion and energy.”
For the past few years, John has been a part owner of Balle de Match, a specialty apparel brand. His decision to leave that opportunity and to join Prince was triggered by the recent retirement announcement of Prince’s Doug Fonte, which speaks volumes about the respect John has for the Prince brand, its people and the progress Prince is making.
According to Embree, “The last thing I was thinking of doing, until I heard of Doug’s retirement, was leaving Balle de Match. But the opportunity to join Prince in such an important capacity was too good to pass up. Prince is the perfect place for me to make a positive impact. It is a clean, strong global brand, with an exceptional team, great products and I can’t think of a better fit in terms of matching my enthusiasm, energy and skill set with its momentum and credibility.”
John has not yet finalized his start date with Prince though he is targeting to join the company in mid-May. John will relocate from Chicago to the New Jersey area with his family.