Fanatics Vice Chairman Doug Mack Retiring at Year’s End
Fanatics vice chairman Doug Mack, who has been CEO of the company’s core merchandise business since 2014, is retiring.
Mack will stay on through the end of the year to help his successor learn the ropes, according to an email that Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin sent Wednesday to employees. That person will then play a role in helping guide the company through its upcoming IPO, which is expected in the next few years.
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“Doug and I have had an open discussion that he would retire around the timing of our IPO, and the more we discussed it, we both agreed that it would make the most sense to bring in a new leader for Fanatics Commerce now,” Rubin said in the email, which was confirmed by a Fanatics spokesman. “This way, the new CEO will be fully ramped up and up-to-speed before we get to an IPO, ensuring a consistency that is in the best interest of the business, our employees and our investors.”
Mack, 54, will stay on as an advisor to the business after retiring from full-time work.
Mack joined Fanatics in April 2014, 10 months after the company raised money at a $3.1 billion valuation. He’s leaving a company that recently raised money at a $31 billion valuation. In that span, annual revenue from the company’s core e-commerce business jumped from roughly $800 million to a projected $5 billion in 2023. Mack helped launch the company’s vertical commerce model, its data strategy and a partnership with Nike that's made Fanatics a critical part of jersey manufacturing in MLB, NFL and college sports.
He also helped push the Fanatics business in new directions. The world’s largest seller of licensed sports merchandise, Fanatics has moved recently into NFTs and trading cards, both part of a wider emphasis on collectibles, and into sports betting, with a gaming division that is currently launching across the U.S. Last week the company debuted Fanatics Live, and its Fanatics Events business is on track to launch next year.
That growth has made the company’s eventual IPO plans more complex. In August 2020, Fanatics raised money in what executives originally expected would be its final round before an IPO. There have since been four more funding announcements—totaling more than $2.8 billion—to help fund those new verticals. In addition to the roadshow required in the run-up to the IPO process, company executives are often encouraged to stay on for a length of time after the offering to ensure continuity.
A search is underway for Mack’s successor, according to Rubin’s email, and the company expects to have someone in that role later this year.
Mack’s first title was CEO of Fanatics, which in 2014 was just the merchandise/e-commerce business (Rubin was then executive chairman). In 2021, as the new verticals launched, Rubin became CEO of the whole enterprise while Mack remained CEO of the Fanatics Commerce business, by far the largest of the company’s verticals. He was also named vice chairman of the larger Fanatics organization.
Prior to joining Fanatics, Mack was CEO of home décor brand One Kings Lane, and before that, CEO/co-founder of B2B e-commerce platform Scene7. He began his career in the General Electric Financial Management Program and later worked at McKinsey & Co.
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