- Eric Newman, Brandweek

NEW YORK Reebok has named Matt O'Toole CMO, less than a month after Uli Becker vacated the post to take over as the company's president and CEO.

O'Toole helped grow the Reebok-CCM Hockey division, where he was president and CEO. He also briefly served as president of Reebok North America and led restructuring efforts for the U.S. market. Reebok, Canton, Mass., is a division of Adidas, Herzogenaurach, Germany.

In his new role, O'Toole will lead the brand's global marketing efforts, including product and design, sports marketing, brand marketing and public relations. In addition to those duties, he will continue to direct Reebok-CCM Hockey.

"Matt was appointed to lead our U.S. organization on the strength of his exceptional track-record in building Reebok-CCM Hockey's brand and business, as well as his outstanding strategic marketing expertise," said Becker, who replaced former Reebok CEO Paul Harrington earlier this month, in a statement. "These are the skills that make him a natural choice for the role of CMO. "

Jim Gabel will take over O'Toole's old post of president, Reebok North America. Gabel was formerly svp at Adidas America, where he managed the U.S. Adidas brand business, as well as its TaylorMade and adidas Golf Canada divisions.

O'Toole will be officially installed on April 1, with Gabel's appointment effective in mid-April.

In an earnings statement released earlier this month by Adidas, Reebok, which reports in euros, posted sales of $3.55 billion (at current exchange rates) for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2007, down 6 percent from the year earlier.

Reebok spent $30 million on U.S. advertising in 2006, excluding online, and a bit more than $15 million in 2007, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.