BURGHEIM, DE / ACCESS Newswire / April 10, 2025 / Sport Group (the "Company"), the global leader in artificial turf and sports and recreation surfaces, today announced the appointment of Alejandro Pena as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.
Alejandro has more than 25 years of experience leading high-performance organizations and driving transformational growth across the consumer products and building materials sectors. He joins Sport Group following his successful tenure as CEO of Keter Group, a global leader in durable consumer lifestyle solutions. Under his leadership, Keter achieved significant earnings growth while accelerating innovation, digital transformation, and sustainability across its portfolio.
Prior to Keter, Alejandro held senior executive roles at Newell Brands and Jarden Corporation, where he built a track record of scaling global businesses, optimizing operations, and fostering winning cultures. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia and an MBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas.
"I'm honored to join Sport Group at such an exciting moment in its journey," said Mr. Pena. "The Company's iconic brands - including AstroTurf, SYNLawn, Polytan, Rekortan, and Laykold - have shaped the sports and recreational landscape for decades. I look forward to working closely with our talented global team of more than 2,600 associates to build on this strong foundation, delivering exceptional value to our customers through quality, innovation, and service."
Sport Group extends its thanks to outgoing CEO Christoph von Nitzsch for his leadership and contributions to the Company.
About Sport Group
Sport Group is the global leader in artificial turf systems and polyurethane-based sports and recreational surface solutions. With a portfolio of pioneering brands and a presence in over 70 countries, Sport Group delivers high-performance, sustainable surfaces for professional sports venues, schools, parks, and residential applications. Its brands include AstroTurf, SYNLawn, Polytan, Rekortan, and Laykold.
About KPS Capital Partners, LP
KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $19.7 billion of assets under management (as of December 31, 2024). For over three decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds' portfolio companies currently generate aggregate annual revenues of approximately $22.2 billion, operate 222 manufacturing facilities in 30 countries, and have approximately 58,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide (as of December 31, 2024, pro forma for recent acquisitions). The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.
Contact Information
Eva Issa
VP HR, Legal & Internal Communications
eva.issa@sportgroup-holding.com
+49 151 22 56 88 54
SOURCE: Sport Group
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