US-based footwear company Brown Shoe Company, Inc. has named Richard Ausick as president of its Bennett Division. He will be responsible for overseeing the division's operations, as well as growing the Via Spiga, Franco Sarto, Etienne Aigner and Nickels Soft brands.

Mr Ausick joined Brown Shoe's Famous Footwear division in 2002 as senior vice president/chief merchandising officer. Since that time, he has served as a member of the leadership team responsible for repositioning the 950-store chain.

Before joining Famous Footwear, he was a senior vice president and general merchandise manager for the 114-store Shopko chain.

Brown Shoe is a $2.3 billion footwear company with global operations.

The company operates the more than 950 store Famous Footwear chain, plus over 300 specialty retail stores in the US and Canada under the Naturalizer, FX LaSalle, Via Spiga and Franco Sarto names.