Edward W. Stack

Edward W. Stack
Born	1954/1955
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, businessman
Known for	Former chairman and CEO of Dick's Sporting Goods
Spouse	Donna A. Stack

Edward W. Stack (born 1954/1955) is a prominent American billionaire entrepreneur. In 1984, he assumed the roles of chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) at Dick's Sporting Goods, a sports retailer established in 1948 by his father, Richard "Dick" Stack. In February 2021, Lauren Hobart took over the CEO position.

Early life and education

Edward W. Stack is the son of Richard "Dick" Stack, who founded Dick's Sporting Goods. Raised in the East Side area of Binghamton, New York, he attended local public schools and participated in baseball and football at Binghamton North High School. In 1977, Stack graduated from St. John Fisher College with a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree in accounting. Although initially intending to pursue a legal career, he joined the family enterprise following his father’s declining health.

Career

In the early 1980s, Stack and his siblings acquired Dick's Sporting Goods from their father when it operated only two stores in Upstate New York. Upon his father's retirement in 1984, Stack became both chairman and chief executive officer. He introduced a formal board of directors, expanded the number of retail outlets, and moved the company’s headquarters to Pittsburgh in 1994. Under his leadership, the company went public through an initial public offering in 2002.

By 2010, Stack held approximately 25 percent of the company's common stock and controlled close to two-thirds of its voting power. After divesting 5.8 percent of his shares in 2013, his ownership remained near 20 percent, mostly through Class B shares. In response to the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Stack declared that Dick's Sporting Goods and its subsidiaries would cease sales of military-style semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines, as well as prohibit firearm sales to customers under age 21. He also disclosed that $5 million worth of assault-style rifles in inventory had been destroyed. Stack has been an advocate for enhanced gun control, employing lobbyists and engaging lawmakers to support related reforms.

As of February 2018, his net worth was estimated at .

In February 2021, Stack was succeeded as CEO by Lauren Hobart.

Board service

Stack has held board positions with the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, KeyCorp, the National Retail Federation, and Seton Hall University. Additionally, he has served on the advisory board for the Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Recognition

In 1997, Stack achieved fourth place in Institutional Investor's ranking for "consumer-retailing/hardlines" top American CEOs and was honored as "Sports Executive Visionary of the Year" by SportStyle. He received Ernst & Young’s "Entrepreneur of the Year in Southwestern Pennsylvania" award in 1999. The Heinz History Center bestowed upon him a History Makers Award for business and industry in 2005. The following year, he was inducted into the National Sporting Goods Association's Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame. Other accolades include a Humanity and Service Award from the Bus Stops Here Foundation (2014), the Major John H. Russell Leadership Award from the foundation affiliated with Marine Corps University (2015), and an honorary doctor of humane letters degree awarded by his alma mater after delivering its commencement address in 2016.

Personal life

Stack is married to Donna A. Stack. In February 2015, they acquired an 8,946-square-foot residence in North Palm Beach, Florida for $12 million. The pair currently live in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.