Management Team

Ashley is the Chief Executive Officer of The Michaels Companies.

Ashley joined Michaels in early 2020 after a distinctive and successful career at Walmart. He served in various roles of increased leadership and responsibility across the company. His final role at that company was Chief Merchandising and Chief Operating Officer for Walmart U.S. eCommerce.

Prior to joining the U.S. eCommerce team, he was the Chief Merchant at Sam’s Club where he led a merchandising team and oversaw activities including assortment, private brand strategy, pricing, global sourcing, packaging, replenishment, and supply chain. He also previously served in a broad set of senior merchandising roles at Walmart. Earlier in his career, he spent time at Dell where he held a variety of positions in finance, after spending five years at Accenture focused on the retail industry.

Ashley earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Real Estate as well as a Master of Business Administration from Baylor University.

Heather is responsible for developing innovative strategies to connect with our customers, implementing strategic growth opportunities for Michaels and growing the Michaels B2B business.

Heather comes to us from Bugaboo, where she served as President. Prior to this, she served as the Principal at HB Consulting, the SVP of Business Planning at Hudson’s Bay Company and VP of Strategy at Toys“R”Us.

Heather holds an MBA in Finance from University of Utah.  She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Utah State University.

As the company’s top technology leader, Uma has complete ownership and accountability for Michaels Engineering and Product Development and ensuring our technology initiatives align with our overall company strategy. He also oversees the development and implementation of new technology innovations that will better serve business partners and customers.

Uma has spent the last 25 years working in retail technology, most recently as the CIO at Conn’s HomePlus. Prior to Conn’s, he spent time in senior technology leadership roles at several retailers including Belk, Tailored Brands, Walmart Global eCommerce, and Gymboree. He has overseen technology transformations at several of these companies while building high performing teams and crafting strong internal and external partnerships. 

Uma holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in mechanical engineering from Acharya Nagarjuna University.

Tim is responsible for mitigating risk to Michaels by managing SEC compliance, board of director governance, litigation, and general liability. As Michaels Chief Compliance Officer, he is also responsible for ensuring the seamless execution of the company’s Compliance program and policies.

Before joining Michaels, Tim was Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Walmart U.S. Prior to this role he has held the positions of Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Walmart International and Vice President and General Counsel over IT, Intellectual Property and Walmart.com at Walmart.

Tim holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Hendrix College and a JD from the University of Arkansas.

Mike is responsible for FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis), Investor Relations, Treasury, accounting, as well as Business Planning and Analysis.

Mike comes to us from Pizza Hut where he served as Chief Financial Officer and oversaw the company’s Business Analysis, Strategy and Financial Planning for stores in the U.S. Mike also held other positions at Pizza Hut, including Chief Financial Officer for Pizza Hut Europe, Chief Growth Officer for Pizza Hut Europe and the United Kingdom and Director of Strategy for Pizza Hut International. Prior to Pizza Hut, Mike worked as a consultant and project leader for the Boston Consulting Group and as an analyst for Merrill Lynch & Co and Svoboda Capital Partners.

Mike earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in Finance from The University of Notre Dame.

Brynn helps drive the implementation of the company's mission and talent strategies through hiring, retaining, developing and engaging the teams, promoting an inclusive workplace, providing competitive compensation and benefits, and helping shape the company culture.

Prior to Michaels, Brynn spent a dozen years at JCPenney, most recently as the EVP-CHRO and in various HR leadership positions before that. Evanson also spent eighteen years at Target Corporation first at Marshall Field's, where she worked in stores, finance, merchandising and human resources and then in the Target division in several HR leadership roles.

Evanson holds bachelor's degrees in marketing and in finance from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.

As Chief Merchant, Jon is responsible for Merchandising, Product Development, Trend, Merchandising Finance and Pricing. Prior to joining Michaels, John spent four years at The Container Store, most recently as the Chief Merchandising Officer, Supply Chain and Manufacturing. He played a vital role there developing key, strategic initiatives in the areas of sustainability, custom spaces expansion, private brands and vendor relationships. 

John has spent his career in retail from BJ’s Wholesale Club to Linens-n-Things, from Saks to Old Navy and Macy’s. Prior to The Container Store, John was VP General Merchandise, Sourcing & Front End at HEB for more than a decade. 

John holds a BA Economics & Minor in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee.

Derek leads all aspects of our supply chain team and oversees the movement of product through our transportation, distribution and eCommerce fulfillment systems.

Before joining Michaels, Derek was EVP – Chief Supply Chain Officer at Giant Eagle, the private, regional grocer, where he oversaw Distribution, Transportation, Inventory/Merchandise planning, Merchandise Operations and Fresh Food Manufacturing. Prior to Giant Eagle, Derek spent several years at ULTA beauty in positions of increasing responsibility, ultimately becoming the Chief Supply Chain Officer for his last five years there. Before ULTA Beauty, Derek was at Target for more than a decade, where he managed regional operations and directed eight Distribution Centers nationwide by the end of his tenure.

Derek holds a bachelor’s degree in Education from Hanover College and a Master of Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Todd joined Michaels in March 2023 as SVP – Real Estate and Development. In this role, Todd is responsible for Michaels’ comprehensive real estate strategy and store growth plans.

Before joining Michaels, Todd spent several years at ATI Physical Therapy leading the development strategy and execution across all facets of real estate including strategic market expansion and fleet planning, clinic growth, clinic design and construction, facilities management, real estate legal and lease administration.

Todd has several decades of experience leading multi-brand growth and fleet optimization across large-footprint domestic and international retail companies. Prior to his time at ATI, Todd held the position of Vice President – Real Estate at Gap Inc. where he was responsible for the real estate strategy, growth, and management for all North America and Europe Gap Inc. brands.

Todd holds bachelor's degrees in Economics from Indiana University Bloomington and a Master's in Finance from Walsh College.

Joe is responsible for providing overall leadership and direction for Michaels Stores in the U.S. and Canada as well as the Loss Prevention teams.

Joe came to Michaels from Bridgestone Retail Operations, where he served as President and was responsible for sales and profit objectives for over 2,200 automotive care retail stores. Prior to that, Joe held multiple retail leadership positions including EVP of Global Stores Operations for Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us, President of TitleMax, and Division President, SVP of Walmart’s Northeast Division.

Joe holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point.