June 30, 2016: Nike Inc. announced that chairman Phil Knight has retired from the company’s board of directors and Mark Parker, Nike’s president and CEO since 2006, has been appointed to the additional position of chairman, effective immediately. This is the completion of the planned transition that was initiated a year ago. The board has also appointed Knight to the position of chairman emeritus, with a standing invitation to attend company board meetings as an observer and “to lend his experience and time to further the growth of Nike’s business,” according to the brand.
June 30, 2016: Nike Inc. announced that Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, has been appointed lead independent director of the company’s board, effective immediately. Cook, a Nike director since 2005, is chair of the board’s compensation committee and serves as a member of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee.
June 29, 2016: Tim Belk will retire as CEO of his family’s department store chain Belk Inc. effective effective July 5. Belk served as CEO since 2004. He had been with the company, serving in a variety of roles, since 1981. Former Hot Topic Inc. CEO Lisa Harper will become the company’s new chief.
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June 28, 2016: Alexander Wang announced that he will add the roles of chairman and CEO to his title at his eponymous label, effective immediately. The roles of chairman and CEO were roles previously held by Wang’s mother, Ying Wang, and sister-in-law, Aimie Wang, respectively. He will remain creative director. Alexander Wang also named former DKNY president Mary Wang to the newly created role of EVP. She will oversee global operations and report to him. Caroline Wang, former IBM executive and the designer’s aunt, also joined the company as executive vice chairman.
June 28, 2016: Men’s comfort brand Samuel Hubbard Shoe Co. has named Donita Dennis its VP of marketing, and Robert A. Ruiz III has been appointed VP of sales. Dennis has previously held posts in marketing and business development at number of shoe firms, including Birkenstock and Footprints. Ruiz also worked at several footwear companies, serving as national accounts director for men’s shoes and accessories at Bruno Magli and as strategic account executive at Cole Haan LLC.
June 21, 2016: Rolf Reinschmidt has stepped down from his post as GM for Adidas Outdoor and will transition into a new role as executive advisor of Global Brands, effective June 1. As Adidas searches for a candidate to fill Reinschmidt’s former role, Tim Janaway, GM for Adidas Heartbeat Sports will oversee Adidas Outdoor.
June 16, 2016: Deckers Brands-owned Hoka One One has hired Michael McManus as its senior sports marketing manager. McManus joins Hoka One One from Adidas, where he worked as the senior director of global sports marketing for running.
June 14, 2016: Sock manufacturing company Nester Hosiery announced that company president Kelly Nester has been promoted to CEO, effective immediately. Current CEO and company founder Marty Nester will continue to chair the company’s board of directors.
June 14, 2016: Nike Inc. named Craig Zanon VP and GM of Nike global basketball, replacing Michael Jackson, who has resigned from Nike. The position is effective immediately and reports to Jayme Martin, VP and GM of global categories. In the interim, Zanon will also continue to lead global men’s training for Nike. Zanon, a 27-year Nike veteran, has held a number of leadership roles at the brand, including VP and GM of U.S. footwear and GM of the Americas. Zanon has worked extensively in the brand’s basketball business and has held the post of VP and GM of Nike global basketball once before.
June 10, 2016: Burberry COO John Smith has decided to leave in order to pursue new interests, the company announced. He will leave Burberry and step down from the board by summer 2017, as per his notice period of 12 months. Smith, a former BBC executive, had been at Burberry for seven years.
June 9, 2016: Ralph Lauren Corp. announced that Jane Nielsen has been named CFO, effective Sept. 6. Nielsen joins the firm from Coach Inc., where she served as EVP and CFO. In an expanded CFO role at Ralph Lauren, in addition to all finance functions, she will oversee store operations, procurement, IT and investor relations.
June 9, 2016: Bill Campbell has been named corporate SVP of global supply chain and inventory management at Ralph Lauren Corp. Prior to joining Ralph Lauren, Campbell spent 11 years in distribution and logistics leadership roles at Amazon Inc. He will start at Ralph Lauren by Oct. 1.
June 9, 2016: Jeffrey Kuster has been named group president for the Americas at Ralph Lauren Corp. Kuster has held leadership roles at HSN Inc., Fruit of the Loom Inc. and VF Corp. He will oversee all commercial activities for the Americas region, including wholesale, retail, e-commerce, factory and Latin America. His appointment is effective July 11.
June 9, 2016: Anders Bergstrom, previously director of strategy development at Deckers Brands, has been named director of marketing for Sanuk, effective immediately.
June 9, 2016: Magnus Wedhammar will join Sanuk as GM, effective July 5. He most recently served as SVP of product at Wolverine World Wide Inc.’s Sperry Top-Sider.
June 8, 2016: Coach Inc. CFO Jane Hamilton Nielsen has resigned from her post to pursue another opportunity. Nielsen is expected to stay into August to help with the transition. Andrea Shaw Resnick, global head of investor relations and corporate communications at Coach, is expected to serve as interim CFO until a permanent appointment is made. The company has enlisted recruiting firm Crist Kolder Associates to help with a search for Nielsen’s permanent successor.
June 7, 2016: DSW Inc. CFO and SVP Mary Meixelsperger has resigned from her post to accept a new role outside the company. Her last day will be on June 10. Jared Poff, SVP of finance, has been named the interim CFO for the brand. He has been with the firm since January 2015 and previously served in executive roles of Big Lots Inc. Meixelsperger joined DSW in the spring of 2014 from regional discount chain Shopko Stores, where she was CFO, controller and treasurer for almost a decade.
June 2, 2017: Genesco Inc. has promoted 20-year company veteran Michael Blankinship to SVP of product design, development and sourcing for Genesco’s Licensed Brands division, effective June 1. In this role, Blankinship will be responsible for all product related functions of Dockers, Chaps and G.H. Bass & Co. brands as well as SureGrip Footwear. He will continue to report to Andy Gilbert, president of Genesco Licensed Brands. Most recently, Blankinship was VP of product design and development.
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