Kaltex America has made two key appointments to help grow its business.
Hebe Schecter, CEO and president of Kaltex America, said Jack Mathews has joined the company as senior vice president of denim. Mathews will lead the company in strategic initiatives for the denim fabric division.
Schecter also announced that Lisa Valente has been brought on board as chief merchandising officer of apparel. Valente will lead Kaltex’s strategic apparel growth efforts in the U.S. and Europe.
“We are fortunate to have people with the caliber and experience of Lisa Valente and Jack Mathews joining the Kaltex family,” Schecter said. “Over the past year, we have been strengthening our team in New York and in Mexico to successfully implement our strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead of us.”
Mathews has spent more than 30 years in the denim industry and has held executive positions at Cone Mills, American Cotton Growers and most recently at Artistic Denim Mills Ltd. He has also held leadership positions in various industry associations, including the Cotton Board and American Apparel Producers Network, and served as a delegate on the National Cotton Council.
“I am excited to join Kaltex America,” Mathews said. “We have built a very strong team, which is a mix of new leaders combined with long-term seasoned professionals. We believe this mix of talent combined with an expanded product offering positions us to grow our business and the markets we serve.”
Valente has held various retail leadership positions with Old Navy, Sears Holdings Corporation and Kohl’s department stores. She brings 25 years of denim manufacturing experience, including private-label brand development, global fabric research and wash development, cost engineering and merchandising.
Kaltex American is a division of Grupo Kaltex, a Mexican-owned, vertically integrated textile company that produces a range of fibers, yarns, fabrics, apparel and home textile products.
