Joe O'Neil, who spent more than 30 years in the athletic footwear business, is to take over as chief executive at Newton Running, replacing the company's co-founder, Jerry Lee. O'Neil is to lead operations, product development, sales, marketing, merchandising and finance. Lee will remain as Newton Running's chairman, stepping away from daily management to focus on strategic leadership. O'Neil's track record in the industry includes assignments at Puma, Adidas, Reebok and Nike. He was most recently senior vice president at DC Shoes, the action sports footwear brand owned by the Quiksilver group. Craig Heisner remains president, a job he has held since he joined Newton in 2013. Both Heisner and O'Neil were brought on board by Fireman Capital Partners, the investment firm led by Paul Fireman, the former Reebok chairman, which is one of Newton's largest shareholders, along with Lee. Fireman Capital Partners acquired a minority stake in Newton Running for $20 million in 2013. The brand was launched in 2007 by Lee and Danny Abshire, built around Newton's forefoot lug technology.

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