Retail
The Buckle
The Buckle Inc. announced eight leadership appointments to the position of vice president (VP) for the company.
Jennifer L. Morrow and Carissa N. Crocker were named VPs of men’s merchandising after most recently serving as divisional merchandise managers for men’s merchandising. Scott A. Werth was promoted to VP of sales and strategy from associate VP of sales, and Todd M. McCown and Tonya G. Robinson were moved up to VP of sales from director of sales.
Brandon M. Hauff was promoted to VP of information technology from director of project management and IT shared services. Troy Forrest, most recently senior director of marketing, was named vice president of marketing.
Adam J. Akerson was promoted to VP of finance, while also retaining the positions of corporate controller and assistant treasurer.
The company also announced that Kelli D. Molczyk was promoted to senior vice president (SVP) of women’s merchandising from VP of women’s merchandising, and Michelle M. Hoffman was moved up to SVP of sales from VP of sales, while Brady M. Fritz was promoted to SVP and retained her roles of general counsel and corporate secretary.
Headquartered in Kearney, Neb., Buckle operates 439 stores in 42 states and is known as a denim destination.
ThredUp
ThredUp, a resale platform for women’s and kid’s apparel, shoes and accessories, announced that Seth Levey has joined the company as its first head of public policy and sustainability.
In this role, Levey will lead government affairs and policy initiatives that drive impact by encouraging widespread adoption of circular business models with an emphasis on apparel reuse. He will also oversee ThredUp’s broader environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts.
Levey will report to Alon Rotem, chief legal officer of ThredUp. Prior to joining ThredUp, Levey served as director of government relations and public affairs at Equinor, where he was responsible for the company’s U.S. climate, sustainability, environmental and innovation policy development and advocacy.
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With ThredUp’s resale-as-a-service, brands and retailers are leveraging its platform to deliver customizable, scalable resale experiences to their customers. ThredUp has processed over 125 million unique secondhand items from 35,000 brands across 100 categories.
Chico’s
Chico’s FAS Inc. announced that Eli Kumekpor of Nike Inc. was appointed to the company’s board of directors as a new independent director.
Kumekpor currently serves as global vice president and general manager of men’s for the Jordan Brand at Nike.
The company also announced that Stephen E. Watson will not stand for re-election to the board at the company’s 2022 annual meeting of shareholders. Watson has served on the board since 2010. Following the changes, the board will comprise 10 members, eight of whom are independent.
As of Jan. 29, the company operated 1,266 stores in the U.S. and sold merchandise through 59 international franchise locations in Mexico and two domestic franchise airport locations. Its merchandise is also available at chicos.com, chicosofftherack.com, whbm.com and soma.com.
Brands
Malouf Home
Malouf Home has restructured its sales leadership to support the company’s domestic and international growth.
Former director of sales Eric Holmstead was promoted to president, a new position for the company. Holmstead will work directly with Jesse Gibbs, new vice president of national sales, and Jeff Holmstead, new vice president of international sales. The new structure will allow Malouf to bolster future opportunities in the home furnishings industry, while furthering relationships with its international partners.
Jeff Holmstead, former U.S. West District manager, was one of the first salespeople hired by Malouf eight years ago. Prior to joining Malouf, he was manager of a furniture and bedding retail store.
Gibbs previously worked as the U.S. East District manager for the sales team.
The Malouf sales department consists of over 40 in-house team members and 60 outside field representatives that manage more than 6,000 retail partnerships across North America, South America, Asia, Europe and Australia.
Unisync
Unisync announced a transition to a new leadership structure.
The company operates through two business units: Unisync Group Limited (UGL), with operations throughout Canada and the U.S. and 90 percent owned Peerless Garments, a domestic manufacturing operation based in Winnipeg, Canada. UGL is a provider of corporate apparel, serving many leading Canadian and American brands, while Peerless specializes in the production and distribution of technical protective garments, military operational clothing and accessories for federal, provincial and municipal government departments and agencies.
After consultation with Unisync’s board of directors, Matthew Graham has chosen to pursue other opportunities outside of Unisync and will be leaving his current role as CEO.
Michael Smith was appointed president of UGL, reporting to Unisync executive chairman Douglas F Good. Smith was senior vice president of operations.
Max Maurice assumed the position of general manager of the Quebec Division of UGL which was formed following the acquisition of Montreal based Utility Garments Inc. in 2018. Maurice joined UGL as a vice president in 2019.
Albert El Tassi, who was Unisync’s minority partner and CEO of Peerless since its acquisition in 2010, will now report directly to Good.
Gildan
Gildan Activewear announced the appointment of Dhaval Buch to the company’s board of directors.
With the appointment of Buch, the board now comprises 11 members. He will serve on the board’s corporate governance and social responsibility committee.
Buch is currently a senior advisor for Blackstone Private Equity, a global investment business and to the Mahindra Group, a large India-headquartered multinational with interests in automobile, farm and finance industries.
FitFlop
FitFlop, a wellness footwear company, appointed Sal Usmani as chief technology officer.
Usmani joins the business tasked with ensuring innovation, data and technology will be at its center. In his most recent role at Belstaff, he managed a complete end-to-end business transformation, spearheading numerous omnichannel projects.
FitFlop makes ergonomic sandals, shoes and boots.
Textiles
Trinseo
Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics and latex binders, has created two new executive leadership team positions–the roles of chief technology officer (CTO) and chief commercial officer (CCO).
Effective March 1, André Lanning will assume the newly created role of senior vice president and CCO, responsible for stepping up commercial excellence, delivering commercial synergies and realizing the organic growth opportunities identified as part of the company’s transformation strategy.
Lanning will continue to lead Trinseo’s strategy, corporate development and marketing communications function until a successor has been appointed. Trinseo has launched the search for Lanning’s successor as well, as the CTO position.
Trinseo is dedicated to making a positive impact on society by partnering with like-minded stakeholders, and supporting the sustainability goals of our customers in a wide range of end-markets, including footwear, automotive, consumer electronics, appliances, packaging, carpet, paper and board, and building and construction. Trinseo had approximately $4.8 billion in net sales in 2021 and has 26 manufacturing sites and one recycling facility around the world.
Organic Cotton Accelerator
The Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA), a multi-stakeholder organization dedicated to organic cotton, announced four new trustees to its board.
Hammad Naqi Khan of WWF Pakistan, Punit Lalbhai of Arvind Ltd., Germán García Ibáñez of Inditex and Nanda Bergstein of Tchibo take their place on the OCA board of trustees for a three-year period that commenced at the beginning of 2022.
Khan is director general and CEO of WWF Pakistan, the country’s largest environmental NGO. Lalbhai is executive director of Arvind, based in India and represents manufacturers and suppliers on the OCA board of trustees.
Based in Spain as head of sustainable product and supply chain at Inditex, García will represent brands and retailers on the board of trustees. Bergstein is director for corporate responsibility at the German coffee and consumer goods retailer Tchibo.
Trade
Federal Maritime Commission
Max Vekich was sworn in as a commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) for a term expiring June 30, 2026.
First nominated by President Biden on June 24 and then again on Jan. 4, he was confirmed by the Senate on Feb. 10.
Prior to joining the FMC, Vekich had a more than 40-year career as a longshoreman, joining the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in 1979. Over the course of his career, he held leadership positions within the ILWU, serving as president of Local 52 and on the ILWU International executive committee.
Previously, Vekich also served four terms in the Washington State House of Representatives, from 1983-1991, where he chaired the Commerce & Labor, Trade & Economic Development and Agriculture committees.
Logistics
Maersk
Maersk appointed Hasan Faraz as managing director for Maersk Pakistan, March 1.
Hasan began his career at Maersk in 2002 through the Maersk International Shipping Education Program. Since then, he has held several positions across functions within Maersk and worked on assignments in Pakistan, Denmark, the U.K., Hong Kong, and the U.S.
In 2019, Hasan took over as the head of customer experience at Maersk and, since then, played a crucial role in shaping and delivering a robust strategy for growth in Pakistan.
Pickup
Pickup, an enterprise-grade, last-mile delivery solution for retailers, commercial and industrial businesses, named Brian Kava as CEO.
Kava takes over the role of CEO from Brenda Stoner, founder and leader of the company through eight years of growth and innovation. Stoner will remain with Pickup as the company’s founder and will continue to focus on the company’s innovation.
Kava joined Pickup in September as head of sales and marketing. Previously, he served as president and general manager at Acosta Inc. in one of its largest growth divisions.
Kava will be focused on leading the company toward three major milestones, including scalable growth, technological differentiation and best-in-class operations.
After a successful $15 million Series B funding round in 2021, Pickup hired over 130 employees at its company headquarters, further building out its sales, tech and customer service teams. Under Kava’s leadership, the company plans to double its employee base, adding additional leaders and subject-matter experts to support its partners across the retail, commercial and industrial verticals. It also plans to expand its services beyond the 80 U.S. service areas it currently operates in.
Technology
Salesfloor
Salesfloor, a virtual shopping and clienteling mobile application, appointed Haitham Ghadiry as chief revenue officer (CRO). As CRO, Ghadiry is responsible for driving go-to-market strategy, sales performance, and overall operations of the global sales, marketing, and channel partners.
Prior to joining Salesfloor, Ghadiry was senior vice president of sales and marketing at TrueCommerce. Prior to that, he was global director of sales and strategic accounts at Trimble Navigation.
With over 50,000 associates from retailers in apparel, beauty and jewelry such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Holt Renfrew, Bloomingdale’s, Ben Bridge Jeweler and Chico’s, Salesfloor helps drive results such as higher online conversion rates, increased basket sizes and decreased return rates.