Timing in business is everything, and Dick Heckmann’s success at K2 Inc. serves as proof that good things can happen when a CEO with the right background and experience comes
into the role just when that expertise is most needed.
Such was the case in 2002, when Heckmann was serving as nonexecutive chairman of sporting goods manufacturer K2.
At the time, K2’s stock was hovering around $8 a share and was stagnant, but the retail side of the industry was anything but stale. The industry was quickly changing to a big-box retail
model as expansion moves by Sports Authority and Modell’s were forcing single product manufacturers to expand or be acquired.
When Heckmann received a call from K2’s incumbent CEO warning that he might choose to file bankruptcy rather than supply the security needed to comply with the covenant terms
required by the banks providing K2’s lines of credit, Heckmann sprang into action, calling upon his contacts and experience to quickly resolve the problem.
“Why play chicken with your vendor?” says Heckmann. “It’s a huge stain on the record of your company. I called the banks and said that I would not only give them security, but I would
commit to raising more money.”
Within weeks, Heckmann had become chairman and CEO of the company, shoring up the financial foundation and raising the necessary capital to make the acquisitions that
would position the firm to compete in the evolving retail environment.