Retail
J.Crew
J.Crew Group announced that Libby Wadle was named CEO, overseeing J.Crew and J.Crew Factory, in addition to her current leadership responsibilities at Madewell.
Jan Singer, who was previously J.Crew Group’s CEO responsible for the J.Crew brands, has elected to pursue other endeavors.
Wadle has more than 25 years of retail and apparel industry experience and has spent the last 16 years at J.Crew, where she has held senior management roles at each brand. Most recently, she served as president and then CEO of Madewell. Before that, she was president of the J.Crew brand, which included oversight of Madewell, from 2013 to 2017.
As of Nov. 24, the company operated 161 J.Crew stores, 144 Madewell stores and 168 J.Crew Factory stores in nearly every state in the United States, and also maintains J.Crew, Madewell and J.Crew Factory websites.
Dick’s Sporting Goods
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. announced that Edward W. Stack, chairman and CEO, will assume the role of executive chairman and continue as chief merchant on Feb. 1. He also will oversee key strategic growth initiatives for the company.
Stack has served as chairman and CEO of Dick’s since he and his siblings bought his father’s two small sporting goods stores in upstate New York in 1984. Under his leadership and predominantly through organic growth, Dick’s has grown to more than 850 stores and nearly $9 billion in annual revenue.
The company also announced that its board unanimously elected Lauren R. Hobart, president of Dick’s, as president and CEO, also effective Feb. 1. Hobart’s appointment is an important step in the company’s long-term succession plan undertaken by the board and Stack.
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Hobart brings more than 25 years of finance, consumer and retail experience and spent 14 years at PepsiCo in various leadership roles before she joined Dick’s as chief marketing officer in 2011. She was appointed president in 2017 and joined the board the following year.
Gap Inc.
Gap Inc. announced that Asheesh Saksena will join the Gap Inc. senior leadership team as chief growth officer, a newly created position that will focus on executing the company’s strategic agenda, as well as leading growth initiatives.
In addition, the company also announced that Sandra Stangl will join Gap Inc. as the new president and CEO of Banana Republic, as the brand redefines affordable luxury.
Saksena most recently served as president of Best Buy Health, where he led the formation and operation of the brand’s strategic diversification into digital health after serving as the company’s chief strategic growth officer.
During her 23 years at Williams Sonoma, Stangl held numerous leadership positions, including president of Pottery Barn Brands. Most recently, she cofounded and was the chief merchant of Mine, a disruptive pure-play home business. Stangl will bring the agility and strategic orientation of a tenured retail executive and entrepreneurial leadership to Banana Republic when she joins in December.
Victoria’s Secret
L Brands Inc. announced several key leadership appointments at Victoria’s Secret.
Martin Waters was named CEO of Victoria’s Secret Lingerie, replacing John Mehas, who has served in the role since February 2019. Waters will report to Stuart Burgdoerfer, interim CEO of Victoria’s Secret and chief financial officer (CFO) of L Brands.
Laura Miller was named chief human resources officer (CHRO) of Victoria’s Secret, Becky Behringer was promoted to executive vice president of North America store sales and operations, and Janie Schaffer was named chief design officer of Victoria’s Secret Lingerie.
Waters joined L Brands in 2008 as head of the international division. Under Martin’s leadership, the international business has expanded from the early phases of incubation to more than 700 stores globally.
Miller most recently served as the CHRO of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines after holding the same post at ADT and Coca Cola Refreshments. Behringer’s most recent role was senior vice president of store operations at Victoria’s Secret, where she oversaw the business’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schaffer previously was director of lingerie and beauty at Marks and Spencer. From 2008 to 2012, she served as head of design for Victoria’s Secret Lingerie.
Macy’s
Macy’s Inc. named Malek Robert Amirshahi as senior vice president of corporate communications, effective Dec. 7.
Amirshahi will be responsible for leading internal and external communications across the enterprise, as well as Macy’s cause work. In this role, he will help drive alignment and consistent messaging across business strategy, transformation, colleague and culture initiatives. He will report to Danielle Kirgan, chief transformation and human resources officer of Macy’s Inc. and will be based in New York City.
Amirshahi is currently senior vice president, corporate communications at Univision Communications Inc., where he manages corporate reputation, employee communications, corporate media relations strategy and execution, and elevates the company’s growth initiatives. Prior to Univision, Amirshahi held several public relations, corporate social responsibility and communications roles at Time Warner Cable, Cox Enterprises and its subsidiaries.
Amirshahi succeeds Cheryl Heinonen, who will be leaving Macy’s Inc. after the holiday season to relocate back home to the West Coast.
Brands
PVH Corp.
PVH Corp. appointed Allison Peterson, chief customer officer for Best Buy Co., and George Cheeks, president and CEO of the CBS Entertainment Group, to its board.
PVH, owner of such brands as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, said their deep experience in successfully navigating consumer disruption will provide perspective as the company continues to evolve as one of the world’s largest apparel companies.
The appointments of Peterson and Cheeks are effective Jan. 26 and March 22, respectively. PVH also announces its intent to appoint Stefan Larsson, president of PVH Corp., to the board as part of its previously announced CEO succession plan.
The addition of Peterson and Cheeks is part of the refreshment process undertaken by the board, as supported by its Nominating, Governance & Management Development Committee.
Burberry
Burberry Group announced that Antoine Bernard de Saint-Affrique was appointed to its board as a non-executive director and member of the Audit and Nomination Committees, effective Jan. 1.
De Saint-Affrique is currently CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group, a manufacturer of chocolate and cocoa product. Prior to that, he held several senior roles at Unilever, latterly as president of the foods division and member of the executive committee.
Textiles
Kornit Digital
Kornit Digital, which develops, manufactures and markets industrial digital printing technologies for the textile industry, announced the appointment of Guy Avidan as president of its newly formed business line focused on accelerating the digital transformation of the textile industry to on-demand sustainable production.
Avidan was chief financial officer (CFO) of Kornit, based in Rosh Haayin, Israel. Kornit said the inflection point in the textile industry and the massive shift to e-commerce continues to accelerate the need to digitally transform the supply chain and adopt on-demand sustainable textile production. The newly formed business line will focus on enabling brands, retailers and marketplaces to realize the benefits of digitization by connecting to the most suitable on-demand production and logistics operations, while ensuring consistency, quality and brand integrity.
The company also announced the appointment of Alon Rozner to replace Avidan as CFO, effective Dec. 1. Previously, Rozner served as the CFO of Orbotech, a global supplier of yield-enhancing and process-enabling solutions for the electronics manufacturing industry.
Trade Shows
Coterie
Coterie, Informa Markets Fashion’s contemporary and advanced contemporary women’s wear trade event, appointed Courtney Bradarich as vice president of events.
Most recently, Bradaric was co-founder and president at Favors Agency, a full-service brand and business development consulting firm, providing strategic advisory to fashion companies seeking U.S. market entry and expansion. Prior to launching Favors, Courtney was women’s show director at Capsule, a U.S.-based men’s and women’s trade show.
Bringing physical and digital marketplaces to the fashion industry, Coterie gathers prominent contemporary women’s wear fashion, footwear and accessories brands with retail buyers from the United States and other worldwide markets.
Logistics
IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Alexandre de Juniac, director general and CEO, will step down from his role, effective March 31.
De Juniac made known his intention to step down from the association several months ago, which enabled a search process to facilitate a smooth leadership transition. The IATA Board of Governors will recommend to the 76th IATA Annual General Meeting Nov. 24 the appointment of Willie Walsh, former CEO of International Airlines Group, to become IATA’s eighth director general on April 1.
De Juniac joined IATA in September 2016 from Air France-KLM, where he was chairman and CEO.