Dec. 29, 2017: Four-decade-old women’s shoe brand J. Reneé Group has named Erica Hicks Anderson its new director of public relations and social media, effective immediately. Anderson will spearhead social media, public relations and corporate social responsibility efforts for its eponymous brand, J. Renee, and its luxe comfort footwear brand, L’Amour Des Pieds. Prior to her new post, Anderson has held positions at Vogue, Net-a-Porter, Tommy Hilfiger and IMG. She is also a college professor at Southern Methodist University. The Dallas-based shoe firm has also hired Gabrielle Rosemond as its new director of digital marketing. Rosemond holds a degree from Parsons School of Design.
Dec. 18, 2017: Chiara Ferragni is taking on the role of president and CEO of her company, TBS Crew Srl. The move is part of a restructuring aimed at fine-tuning her operations, trimming costs and putting her even more at the center of each of her projects. Ferragni is a majority shareholder in the group and succeeds Riccardo Pozzoli, who continues to hold a minority stake but will no longer have any operative role.
Dec. 18, 2017: Diesel and artistic director Nicola Formichetti are parting ways after a four-year collaboration. Diesel founder Renzo Rosso said Formichetti’s contract expires at the end of the month and suggested that the partnership was a success and that it naturally came to an end with the contract’s expiration. Diesel is not naming a successor to the artistic director at the moment.
Watch on FN
Dec. 18, 2017: Iconix Brand Group Inc. announced that current chairman of the board, Peter Cuneo, will assume the role of executive chairman of the board of directors, effective immediately. As executive chairman, Cuneo will be focused on evaluating strategic opportunities, overseeing the financial and legal functions and working towards stabilizing the company’s balance sheet. John Haugh will continue to serve as the company’s CEO, focused on core licensing and brand management functions. Cuneo has served on Iconix’ board since October 2006 and previously held the position of interim CEO from August 2015 to April 2016.
Dec. 15, 2017: Jonathan Saunders has resigned from his position as chief creative officer of Diane von Furstenberg. Saunders joined DVF in May 2016 and was in charge of all product categories, store design, website design, a new corporate brand identity and marketing. At the time of his hire, von Furstenberg said the British designer’s arrival symbolized and facilitated her stepping back from the day-to-day duties that occupy the work of a full-time creative director. Saunders’ last collection for the label was his pre-fall lineup, inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Zabriskie Point.” DVF plans to hire Michel Dyens & Co., an independent investment banking firm, to explore options.
Dec. 13, 3017: Insole maker OrthoLite has hired Nino Gilarde as CFO. Gilarde spent the majority of his career at Covidien Healthcare where he held several roles, including the management of international finance and cost accounting. Most recently, he was CFO of Vention Medical, a manufacturer of medical devices and components that are sold to branded medical device companies.
Dec. 6, 2017: Tapestry Inc.-owned brand Coach announced two key appointments focused on its North American and European business units. Laura Dubin-Wander will join Coach as president, North America, in the new calendar year, reporting to Joshua Schulman, Coach president and CEO. She will join the brand from Givenchy, where she currently holds the role of U.S. president. Prior to that, Dubin-Wander held leadership roles at Christian Dior Couture, American Eagle Outfitters, Liz Claiborne and Victoria’s Secret. Fredrik Malm will join Coach as president, Coach Europe and Coach International, in the new year, also reporting to Schulman. Malm’s role will encompass oversight of Coach’s directly operated retail and wholesale businesses in Europe, as well as the global franchise, distributor and travel retail businesses. Malm will join Coach from Ralph Lauren, where he currently holds the role of president, sales EMEA. Prior to Ralph Lauren, Fredrik was VP of global retail, at ECCO.
Dec. 5, 2017: Genesco Inc. announced that Jim Estepa, CEO of the Journeys Group and a SVP of Genesco, will retire from his current position, effective Feb. 1. He will remain employed by Genesco as chairman emeritus of the Journeys Group, assisting with the transition of his duties, until June 30. Upon Estepa’s retirement, Mario Gallione, president of Journeys retail and Colin Temple, managing director of the Schuh Group, will report directly to Robert Dennis, Genesco’s chairman, president and CEO. Margaret Thouez, SVP and GMM of Little Burgundy, will report to Gallione. In September, Genesco began rolling out its succession strategy for Estepa, who had led Journeys for more than 30 years.
Dec. 4, 2017: As a part of its ongoing restructuring, Under Armour Inc. announced several changes to its digital business. Michael La Guardia has been appointed SVP of digital product. He will lead the strategy for all digital product development working cross-functionally with executive management, category leadership, marketing, creative/design, development and external partners to manage creation and execution of Under Armour’s digital products. La Guardia, who was most recently head of product for both Yahoo! Finance and Sport, will be based out of Under Armour’s San Francisco office and starts on Jan. 8. Mike Lee and Albert Lee, co-founders of MyFitnessPal — which Under Armour purchased in 2015 — announced their decision to leave the company in January to pursue their next entrepreneurial ventures. As part of Under Armour’s digital overhaul, Connected Fitness digital product, digital engineering and digital media will now report directly to UA chief technology officer Paul Fipps. Under Armour also announced today that David Bergman has been named its new CFO. Bergman has served as acting CFO since February 2017.
Dec. 4, 2017: The Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America has added seven new members to its board of directors. The additions are: Colin Browne, chief supply chain officer, Under Armour; Jodie Johnson, SVP, Sr. GMM of women’s apparel, footwear, handbags and fine jewelry, J.C. Penney Co. Inc.; Zine Mazouzi, CFO, footwear, Sears Holdings; Gene McCarthy president and CEO, Asics Americas; Dan Plas, VP and DMM omnichannel, footwear, Kohl’s Corp.; Tsering Namgyal, president, Chinese Laundry; and Nathan Serphos, SVP of accessories & footwear, Michael Kors Holdings Ltd.
Dec. 4, 2017: Ubaldo Minelli next month will become CEO of OTB, the Italian fashion group founded by Renzo Rosso. He succeeds Riccardo Stilli, who will leave his role after four years. Minelli was previously CEO of Staff International, joining the group 17 years ago. All OTB CEOs will now report to Minelli. OTB is parent of brands Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni, Paula Cademartori, Viktor & Rolf, Staff International and Brave Kid. Carlo Schiavo has also been tapped as CFO of the group. Schiavo previously spent time at PWC, FIAT and Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Dec. 4, 2017: Kering has appointed Grégory Boutté as chief client and digital officer, effective immediately. He will report directly to Jean-François Palus, managing director of Kering, and will be a member of the group’s executive committee. Boutté will lead Kering’s digital transformation and drive the development of e-commerce, CRM and data management.
Want More?
