April 26, 2016: Coach Inc. has promoted Andre Cohen to president of North America and global marketing and Todd Kahn is being promoted to president, chief administrative officer and secretary. Gebhard Rainer, Coach’s president and COO, and David Duplantis, president of global marketing, digital and customer experience, will both exit the firm.
April 22, 2016: Nike Inc. announced that Converse president and CEO Jim Calhoun would leave the company to pursue other interests. He will be replaced by Davide Grasso, Nike’s current chief marketing officer. Greg Hoffman, VP of global brand creative and experience, will succeed Grasso as chief marketing officer.
April 22, 2016: Michael Spillane, VP and GM of footwear at Nike Inc., has been named president of product and merchandising, replacing Jeanne Jackson, who will work in a new advisory role with Nike President and CEO Mark Parker.
April 22, 2016: Three-decade Nike Inc. veteran Elliott Hill, who most recently served as president of geographies and sales, will become president of geographies and integrated marketplace, overseeing both the wholesale and DTC businesses.
April 22, 2016: Christiana Shi, president of DTC at Nike Inc., will retire in September. Shi will be succeeded by Heidi O’Neill. O’Neill has been at Nike since 1998 and was the VP / GM of Nike Women’s business for seven years before moving to VP of Nike Stores in 2014. As President of DTC, O’Neill will report to Elliot Hill (who was concurrently named president of geographies and integrated marketplace).
April 21, 2016: Deckers Brands has appointed Andrea O’Donnell as president of Fashion Lifestyle, effective April 25. O’Donnell joins Deckers from DFS Group Ltd., a retailer majority owned by LVMH, where she served as president of global merchandising. Longtime Deckers veteran Connie Rishwain had previously held the role of president of fashion and lifestyle rbands. Rishwain announced her departure in April 2015.
April 21, 2016: Longtime Salvatore Ferragamo CEO Michele Norsa will step down after the arrival of a successor later this year. Norsa joined Ferragamo in 2006 and “has expressed the wish to prioritize family and to focus on new professional interests after a long period of intense efforts and rewarding results, whilst remaining fully committed to his current role until a new ceo is appointed,” said the company.
April 21, 2016: The Finish Line Inc. announced today that longtime Nordstrom executive John Hall will join the company in mid-May as EVP, divisional president and chief merchandising officer. Hall most recently served as VP and corporate merchandiser of Rack Menswear.
April 19, 2016: Andrew Blecher has been promoted to SVP of corporate communications and public relations at Hudson’s Bay Co.’s newly established corporate communications and public relations division. The division is part of HBC’s focus on creating “Centers of Excellence” across the organization. Blecher began his career at Saks Fifth Avenue nearly 15 years ago. He left for four years to assume a leadership role at an outside PR agency, where HBC was his lead client. He rejoined HBC in 2014, following its acquisition of Saks, initially in the role of SVP of PR and events.
April 13, 2016: Caleres has hired Nelli Kim as SVP and GM for Via Spiga, Vince and Diane von Furstenberg. Kim joins Caleres from Anthropologie, where she was the DMM for footwear and handbags. She spent several years in leadership positions at Bergdorf Goodman, where she ultimately served as VP and DMM of women’s footwear.
April 13, 2016: Janet Carr has joined Caleres as SVP of global business development. In this new role, she will be responsible for identifying opportunities for global business expansion for several Caleres brands. Carr most recently served as president of the handbag division and EVP of strategy at Nine West Group and has also held executive posts as Coach Inc. and Gap.
April 8, 2016: Sporting goods maker Mizuno USA Inc. has promoted Mark O’Brien from VP of brand management and marketing to the newly created position of COO. In his new role, O’Brien will lead business strategy for Mizuno USA, including oversight of brand, product and sales management. O’Brien, who joined Mizuno in June 2015, will continue to report directly to Bob Puccini, president of Mizuno USA, Inc. and director of Mizuno Corp.
April 7, 2016: Puma has named Matthias Mecking the new GM of its Teamsport business unit. Mecking, who took up the post this month, will be responsible for managing and marketing Puma’s full range of team sport products, including footwear, apparel and accessories. He will succeed Filip Trulsson, who will remain with the firm to ensure a smooth transition and take on a new role.
April 6, 2016: Alexis Nasard has been named CEO of the Lausanne, Switzerland-based Bata footwear company. The former Heineken executive assumed his role on April 4 and will oversee the firm’s branded, retail and e-commerce shoe business.
April 4, 2016: Comfort footwear maker Telic has appointed Bill Taylor as VP of sales and Valerie Grindle as CFO. Taylor most recently served as president and CEO of Koolaburra and has also held several executive positions at Birkenstock, Tommy Hilfiger and Rockport. Grindle previously served as CEO of PCS Edventures and as president of Grindle & Associates.
April 4, 2016: Kering-owned fashion house Saint Laurent has appointed Anthony Vaccarello as creative director, replacing Hedi Slimane.
April 1, 2016: After four years as creative and image director, Hedi Slimane is exiting Kering-owned fashion house Saint Laurent. Regarding Slimane’s replacement, Kering and Saint Laurent said that “a new creative organization for the house will be communicated in due course.”
Want more? Catch up on other Industry Moves over the past few months.
