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Cyber leadership profile

Academy Sports + Outdoors

Academy Sports + Outdoors is a large-scale sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer operating over 280 stores across the United States. The company provides a wide range of athletic equipment, apparel, and hunting/fishing gear to a broad consumer base. For a security leader, the environment involves protecting a large retail footprint, significant e-commerce operations, and high volumes of consumer financial data.

Industry
Retail
Headcount
10,000+ employees
Headquarters
Katy, Texas
Ownership
Public company · NASDAQ:ASO
Revenue
$1B – $10B
Funding
Publicly traded
Founded
1938

Cyber hiring activity

Open leadership roles

1

1 at Director level or above

Opened, last 12 months

1

1 Director+

Prior 12 months

0

Hiring velocity

Low

Median Opportunity Score 89

1 leadership role observed in the last 12 months. CLI has no coverage of the prior year for this employer. Counts reflect roles Academy Sports + Outdoors posted that CLI has observed and published; they are not a complete record of the employer's hiring.

Security leadership

Doug Vaughan

CISO & VP, Information Security and IT ComplianceHiring influence: HighInferredHigh confidence

He is the top dedicated security executive responsible for the day-to-day operations and strategic direction of the cybersecurity department.

Public profileSource

Steve Sealy

SVP, Chief Information OfficerHiring influence: HighStated publiclyHigh confidence

As CIO, he oversees the entire technology and security strategy, determining the budget and reporting structure for the CISO.

Public profileSource

People are recorded only from public sources. Where a role in the hierarchy is inferred rather than stated, CLI labels it so you can weigh it yourself.

Approach

Open any live role below for its full approach path: the likely hiring owner, the decision circle around them, and the strongest route in.

Security organization

Estimated team size30–75 peopleModerate confidence

The CISO reports to the Chief Information Officer, which is a standard reporting line for the retail sector to align security with digital transformation.

Major functions

Security Operations Center (SOC)IT Compliance & AuditIdentity and Access Management (IAM)Retail Point-of-Sale SecurityE-commerce Security

Maturity indicators

  • Dedicated CISO role established at the VP level
  • Public disclosure of incident response procedures following 2024 breach
  • Active recruitment for specialized roles in cloud security and GRC

The organization demonstrates a mid-to-high maturity level, typical for a large public retailer, with dedicated leadership and a clear focus on regulatory compliance and account protection.

Organization figures are CLI estimates, not disclosures. High confidence

Security events

  1. Mar 2024

    Academy Sports + Outdoors Reports Credential Stuffing Incident

    Security incidentHigh confidence

    Academy Sports + Outdoors notified the Maine Attorney General of a data breach occurring between March 21 and March 25, 2024, involving unauthorized access to customer accounts via valid login credentials (credential stuffing).

    Source

Open cyber leadership roles

Vice President, IT Cyber Security

Academy Sports + Outdoors · Retail

Katy, TX · Onsite

Compensation not disclosed

Employer title: VP IT Cyber Security

SVP-equivalent

CLI Career Level

89

Opportunity

Strong · Last verified 1 hour ago

Cyber Leadership Index compiles these dossiers from public sources and the employer's own postings. Inferred figures are labelled with a confidence level; anything CLI cannot establish is shown as unknown rather than estimated. Last refreshed September 24, 2026.