Footwear industry veteran joins performance footwear brand to help drive next phase of growth
WINDHAM, N.H. — SQAIRZ, the performance footwear company redefining stability and biomechanics across golf, baseball, softball, pickleball and medical footwear, today announced the appointment of Michael Ferlauto as Vice President of Sales. The 20-year footwear industry veteran will lead an aggressive strategy to build SQAIRZ’s presence in retail and wholesale channels, broadening the brand’s distribution beyond its direct-to-consumer roots.
New distribution targets include major sporting goods retailers, golf specialty accounts, team dealers, medical channels, international partners and other wholesale accounts. The initiative follows strong momentum over the past year, including expansion into new sports, new product launches and team partnerships, Medicare reimbursement approval to reduce fall risk, increasing retail interest, and growing consumer awareness of the performance benefits of SQAIRZ’s patented design features.
Ferlauto has extensive experience in scaling footwear brands through periods of rapid commercial growth. Most recently, he helped transform footwear startup PSUDO from a direct-to-consumer business into an omnichannel brand, adding more than 175 wholesale accounts and over 300 retail doors in less than a year. He previously spent more than a decade at Skechers, where he served as Vice President of Men’s Footwear and was part of the executive leadership team as Skechers expanded from $150 million to more than $8 billion in global revenue.
“Our brand has reached an important inflection point,” said Bob Winskowicz, Founder and CEO of SQAIRZ. “We’ve spent years validating our technology, earning the trust of athletes, building awareness and creating demand. Now the goal is to make SQAIRZ easier to find wherever athletes and consumers shop. Michael has successfully led that type of transformation at both PSUDO and Skechers, so he is ideally positioned to help us replicate that success as we expand SQAIRZ’s footprint.”
That expansion builds on a foundation of product innovation that has fueled the company’s growth to date. SQAIRZ has established its reputation by challenging traditional footwear design through patented innovations that promote greater stability, balance and ground-force transfer. Independent testing has demonstrated measurable performance improvements across multiple sports, helping establish the company as an emerging force in performance footwear.
“SQAIRZ possesses something that’s increasingly rare in today’s footwear industry: genuine product innovation supported by measurable performance benefits and passionate customer advocacy,” Ferlauto said. “The brand has gained a strong following largely through support from prominent athletes, partnerships with sports teams and direct-to-consumer sales. The opportunity now is to dramatically increase availability through strategic retail and wholesale partnerships. We have already signed our first major retail sporting goods chain, and I’m confident that we will soon see SQAIRZ footwear in every distribution channel that fits the company’s growth strategy.”
About SQAIRZ
SQAIRZ designs biomechanically engineered performance footwear that helps athletes generate more power, stability and confidence from the ground up. Through patented technology and independent scientific validation, SQAIRZ footwear is engineered to improve balance, maximize ground-force transfer and enhance movement across golf, baseball, softball, pickleball, medical and occupational applications. For more information, visit https://sqairz.com/
