American Eagle Hires New CFO Following Papa John's Executive

American Eagle Outfitters named Ravi Thanawala Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective August 3, succeeding 25-year company veteran Mike Mathias. Mathias, who had served as CFO since April 2020, will transition to a full-time non-executive strategic advisor role to CEO Jay Schottenstein.

Thanawala joins AEO from Papa John's, where he has served as CFO since November 2025 and briefly held the interim CEO role from March to August 2024. Before Papa John's, he spent roughly three years as CFO of Nike's North America business. Alongside the transition announcement, American Eagle reaffirmed its previously issued second-quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 guidance, signaling that the leadership change is not tied to a shift in the company's near-term outlook.

Thanawala's compensation package includes a $1 million base salary, incentive pay eligibility, and a $1 million cash bonus plus restricted stock awards intended to offset compensation he forfeited by leaving Papa John's. The hire comes as American Eagle shares remain under pressure, down roughly 34% over the past six months even as they are still up about 74% over the trailing year, underscoring the volatility the new CFO will need to help manage.

Investors and analysts will be watching American Eagle's upcoming quarterly earnings call for early signals on how Thanawala approaches cost discipline, inventory management, and capital allocation as he settles into the role.