May 31, 2018: HBC — the Canadian parent of Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor and other high-end department stores — has appointed Stephen Gold as chief technology and digital operations officer. Prior to joining HBC, he served as EVP of technology operations and innovation, and chief information officer, at CVS Health. In his new role, Gold will be responsible for leading the technology and digital strategy for HBC, with a focus on digital innovation across the company and its banners in North America. With this appointment, HBC is combining its digital operations and technical teams under one “Center of Excellence.” (In February, HBC hired Helena Foulkes, former EVP of CVS Health and president of CVS Pharmacy, as its new CEO. In April, it tapped Bari Harlam to serve as its chief marketing officer. Harlam also spent time at CVS Health, where he launched CVS Pharmacy’s ExtraCare program.)
May 23, 2018: Nicolas Ghesquière has renewed his contract with Louis Vuitton and will continue to serve as artistic director of women’s collections. Ghesquière took on the role in 2013, succeeding Marc Jacobs. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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May 22, 2018: J.C. Penney Co. Inc. has announced that chairman and CEO Marvin Ellison will resign from his role to pursue another opportunity with Lowe’s Cos. Inc. (Lowe’s announced that Ellison will become its CEO effective July 2.) While Ellison will remain a director and CEO through June 1, he will step down from his position as chairman of the board effective immediately. The board of directors has elected current lead independent director Ronald Tysoe as chairman of the board. It has also created an office of the CEO, which will comprise CFO Jeff Davis, chief customer officer Joe McFarland, CIO and chief digital officer Therace Risch and EVP of supply chain Mike Robbins. The four executives will share equal responsibility for the company’s day-to-day operations until a new CEO is appointed, the company said. A search committee has been formed to conduct a search for a CEO. (JCPenney shares tumbled on the news of Ellison’s impending departure.)
May 21, 2018: Dr. Martens has appointed Kenny Wilson as CEO. He will succeed Steve Murray, who stepped down in October after three years in the role. Wilson is CEO at Cath Kidston, holding the post since 2011. He was previously Levi’s brand president for Europe and president of the accessories retailer Claire’s.
May 21, 2018: Tapestry Inc. has announced the resignation of creative director Giovanni Morelli, who joined the team in May last year. “While we greatly admire Giovanni’s creative talents, Tapestry is committed to an environment where every individual feels respected, and at times his behavior fell short of these standards,” CEO Victor Luis said in a statement. The company has begun the search for its new artistic leader.
May 16, 2018: Academy Sports and Outdoors has announced Ken Hicks’ appointment as chairman and CEO. (Departing CEO J.K. Symancyk is leaving to pursue another opportunity.) Hicks has been a member of the company’s board of managers, bringing over three decades of senior merchandising, marketing and operational experience in retail. He previously served as chairman and CEO of Foot Locker for six years.
May 16, 2018: Arezzo&Co has appointed Wayne Kulkin as head of international operations, reporting to CEO Alexandre Birman. Effective immediately, Kulkin’s new role is focused on promoting the sustainable growth of Arezzo&Co’s U.S. operations through the development of the brands Schutz and Alexandre Birman. He has 25 years of experience in the footwear industry and has served as CEO at Stuart Weitzman.
May 16, 2018: Wolverine World Wide Inc. has named industry veteran Anne Cavassa as president of Saucony, effective immediately. She comes to the brand with more than 20 years of experience in global brand building and innovative product marketing, with her most recent position being chief customer experience officer and SVP of marketing and apparel for Brooks Running Co. In her new role, Cavassa will join the senior leadership team at Wolverine and report directly to Richie Woodworth, president of the Wolverine Boston Group.
May 15, 2018: RG Barry Corp. has named Scott Erdman the president of Baggallini and Joseph Bean the senior vice president of Ecommerce Wholesale. Erdman was most recently the chief merchandising officer at eBags, while Bean previously served as the North America vice president of internet wholesale at The Rockport Co. Effective immediately, both executives will report directly to company president and CEO Bob Mullaney.
May 14, 2018: HBC announced the appointment of Vanessa LeFebvre as president of Lord & Taylor, effective May 22. She will replace Liz Rodbell, who headed up the department store since 2014. LeFebvre joins HBC from online retailer Stitch Fix, where she served as VP, general merchandise manager of women’s, the primary business for the company. After spending the first 10 years of her career as a buyer and DMM at Lord & Taylor, LeFebvre went on to senior roles at several retailers including Macy’s, TJX Companies and Daffy’s. At Macy’s, LeFebvre was the principal architect of Macy’s Backstage division. She will report directly to HBC CEO Helena Foulkes.
May 14, 2018: Matchesfashion.com has made several new hires, all of whom will report to CEO Ulrich Jerome. Tom Athron has been named COO, joining the company from Britain’s John Lewis Partnership, where he sat on the board and served as group development director. Lea Cranfield has been hired as commercial director and joins from Yoox Net-a-Porter Group, where she oversaw merchandising for Net and Mr Porter. Prior to joining Net, Cranfield was merchandising manager at Liberty and head merchandiser at Comme des Garçons. Kim Hartlev has been tapped to serve as chief technology officer and joins from Sainsbury’s supermarket, where he held a similar role. He has worked at BlackBerry, Movirtu and Mobilethink.
May 11, 2018: Titan Industries has tapped Joel Oblonksy as its new CEO, effective May 14. Oblonsky is a 20-year veteran of the footwear and accessory industries. His previous positions include CEO of Nine West Group; president Polo and Lauren footwear brands, Lauren Accessories; and president and COO, Nina Footwear Corp.
May 10, 2018: St. Louis-based Caleres Inc. announced that Molly Adams, EVP of global merchandising and product development at The Walt Disney Co. since 2008, will become the new president of Famous Footwear. Adams, who will join Caleres on May 29 and succeed retiring chief Rick Ausick, takes the reins of its largest division.
May 8, 2018: Nike Inc. has confirmed four new executive departures. Steve Lesnard, VP and GM of running; Helen Kim, VP and GM of Nike East for North America; Simon Pestridge, global VP of marketing for performance categories; and Tommy Kain, Nike’s director of sports marketing, are no longer with the company.
May 4, 2018: Pentland has appointed Gianne Georgiades CEO of its joint venture with Lacoste Footwear. Georgiades joins the business from Coach, where he was VP of wholesale partnerships in Europe. He also spent time at Deckers Brands, where he served as managing director of EMEA.
May 2, 2018: Macy’s Inc., which announced its acquisition of Story, has named the concept store’s CEO and founder, Rachel Shechtman, its brand experience officer. As part of her new role, Shechtman will report directly to Macy’s president Hal Lawton and be responsible for in-store customer experiences.
May 2, 2018: Kohl’s has appointed retail veteran Doug Howe as the company’s chief merchandising officer in charge of buying, planning and overall merchandising strategy, reporting directly to CEO-elect Michelle Gass. Prior to joining Kohl’s, Howe was global chief merchandising officer at Qurate Retail Group Inc., home to QVC and HSN, and has previously held executive roles at Gap Inc.
May 2, 2018: Oboz Footwear has grown its team with the addition of Judd Salvas as its new marketing manager. Salvas, who took on the role in March, was previously a sales representative with Utah-based KNS Reps and has served as creative director of consulting firm Batch 171.
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