Retail
Under Armour
Under Armour Inc. appointed Massimo Baratto as executive vice president and chief consumer officer.
Since joining Under Armour in 2018, Baratto has served as managing director of the company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Effective Nov. 1, this newly created role will oversee all aspects of Under Armour’s consumer strategy, delivering a consistent brand experience with responsibility for global marketing, e-commerce and retail.
In conjunction with this announcement, Kara Trent, a seven-year Under Armour veteran, will succeed Massimo as the company’s senior vice president and general manager of EMEA. Trent has served in multiple roles in the company’s North American business and most recently has led the merchandising and planning functions for the EMEA region.
Additionally, the company announced that Alessandro de Pestel, who has served as Under Armour’s chief marketing officer since 2018, plans to leave in February to pursue other opportunities.
Asos
Asos CEO Nick Beighton is stepping down, as the fast-fashion e-tailer warned that supply chain problems are likely to impact profitability.
Asos’ board and Beighton agreed that he should step down immediately. The 12-year Asos veteran, who spent six years as chief financial officer (CFO), will continue through the end of the year to assist with the transition. The company’s CEO search focuses on a seasoned global expansion expert.
In other changes, CFO Mat Dunn will take on the additional role of chief operating officer and lead the business on a day-to-day basis. Katy Mecklenburgh, director of group finance, will become interim CFO, and Jøgen Lindemann, chair of Danish-based online fashion marketplace Miinto, will join the board as non-executive director.
Textiles
TreeToTextile
Marie Grönborg was appointed as the new CEO to lead TreeToTextile, which offers a newly developed technology that produces biobased textile fibers with a low environmental footprint at an attractive cost level.
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TreeToTextile is owned by H&M Group, Inter IKEA Group, Stora Enso and LSCS Invest. The company is in its next steps toward industrial upscaling and global commercialization. Grönborg has held several leading positions in the technical, as well as in the commercial domains, in the Perstorp group. Before joining TreeToTextile, she was CEO of Purac.
TreeToTextile is currently constructing a demonstration plant at Stora Enso’s Nymölla mill in southern Sweden to upscale the process technology. TreeToTextile is now onboarding a highly skilled management team to operate and develop the plant, consisting of Henric Höglind. plant manager; Johan Larsson, head of production; Hanna Svensson, development manager, and Jonas Engström, head of technology.
Chargeurs
The Chargeurs Group, a maker of temporary surface protection, garment interlinings, technical textiles and Nativa brand merino wool, appointed Gianluca Tanzi as CEO of Chargeurs’ textiles division, comprising Chargeurs PCC Fashion Technologies and Chargeurs Luxury Materials.
Tanzi brings more than two decades of global operations, manufacturing and supply chain experience spanning fashion, textiles, eyewear, footwear and accessories from his time at Luxottica, United Colors of Benetton and Geox. Tanzi will report to Chargeurs chairman and CEO Michaël Fribourg and director of group performance Gustave Gauquelin.
The company stated that Audrey Petit will fully resume her duties as group chief strategy and diversification officer and that Federico Paullier will remain in his role as managing director of Chargeurs Luxury Materials.
Tanzi previously served as chief operations officer and member of the board of directors of Brooks Brothers, where he achieved significant cost reductions, incorporated new technical innovations from Italy and managed the company’s Made to Measure division. He served concurrently as CEO of Southwick, an American tailored clothing brand under the Brooks Brothers umbrella.
Active in 90 countries with nearly 2,500 employees, the company, whose global signature is High Emotion Technology, develops its manufacturing and technological expertise across a range of sectors, including premium materials protection, fashion and luxury goods, museum services and healthcare.
Covestro
The supervisory board of Covestro AG has extended the contract of management board member Sucheta Govil by three years from Aug. 1, 2022 to July 31, 2025.
Govil has been a member of the management board of Covestro since August 2019. In her role as chief commercial officer (CCO), Govil is responsible for the reporting segment’s Performance Materials and Solutions & Specialties, including all business-relevant processes and areas from production, procurement and application technology to sales. She is also responsible for the central function supply chain and logistic, which covers internal and external supply chains worldwide.
Govil is part of Covestro’s four-member board of management, with CEO Dr. Markus Steilemann, chief financial officer Dr. Thomas Toepfer and chief technology officer Dr. Klaus Schäfer. Covestro is among the world’s leading polymer companies.
Australian Wool Innovation
Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) announced major management changes to create additional demand for Australian wool as economies emerge from Covid-19.
AWI appointed Stuart McCullough to the new international role of chief marketing and innovation officer, allowing him to devote his time to the biggest issues facing the wool industry and Australian woolgrowers. In the role, McCullough will be charged with addressing the industry’s greatest challenges, such as the proposed European labelling laws that could severely disadvantage the fiber, as well as maximizing the opportunities for wool’s growth.
Current chief operating officer John Roberts was named acting CEO ahead of a search process to be conducted by the board to identify a permanent CEO to replace McCullough.
McCullough has more than 35 years of experience in the wool industry, including 20 years with AWI and almost 12 years in the CEO role.
Roberts, who comes from a wool-producing family at Binalong, has more than 30 years of experience in the wool industry, having worked in a wide range of roles at AWI, Woolmark and in private agribusiness companies, including as a wool buyer and trader.
Australian Wool Growers’ Association
Dr. Sabrina Lomax and Monica Ley have been appointed to the board of the Australian Wool Growers’ Association (AWGA).
Ley is the livestock manager for Canowie Poll Merino Stud. She has a background in sheep and wool research and extension, and is a livestock leader with the Livestock Collective, advocating for better industry communication and supply chain transparency.
Lomax has as longstanding academic commitment to animal health, production and welfare and a focus on livestock pain mitigation. Her current research program aims to promote best practice livestock production, with a focus on pain mitigation and objective measures of welfare, through the integration of technology with animal behavior and welfare science.
Brands
Asics
Richard Sullivan was promoted to Asics North America president and CEO from Asics North America president and chief operating officer, effective Jan. 1. Sullivan was also named an executive officer of Asics Corp.
Sullivan will continue to lead the North American region, overseeing Canada, Mexico and the United States.
With over 25 years of experience in the footwear industry, Sullivan was named to his current post in October 2020. He joined the Asics brand in 2016 as the president of ASICS Canada and served as executive vice president of Asics North America overseeing digital, sales, marketing and merchandising from 2019 to 2020.
Jaanuu
Direct-to-consumer medical apparel brand Jaanuu announced the addition of another experienced executive to its bench, hiring Marshall Lai as chief financial officer (CFO).
This appointment comes on the heels of Jaanuu’s recent hires of former Nike marketers Dan Alder and Scott Shepley as it plans for the next phase of global expansion. As CFO, Lai will lead the charge on financial budgeting, strategic planning, investor relations, cash flow management and capital market activities.
Prior to joining Jaanuu, Lai spearheaded finance at Shutterfly, a digital retailer and manufacturing platform for photography and personalized products. Before Shutterfly, Lai worked with both public and private software enterprises leading finance, investor relations and corporate development and he began his career as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers and Nomura Holdings.
Jaanuu is a physician-led brand that designs innovative healthcare apparel. Through science backed data, proprietary technologies and antimicrobial-finished fabrics, Jaanuu creates apparel and accessories that empower healthcare professionals to look and feel their best.
Logistics
UPS
UPS appointed Bernard Jiang as president of UPS China.
Jiang will oversee UPS’s business and operations in China and continue to help customers drive cross-border connectivity and create resilient supply chains.
He succeeds Michelle Ho, who was recently named UPS’s Asia Pacific region president.
This year, in addition to service enhancements in Beijing, Tianjin and Chengdu, UPS boosted its service offering in more than 52,000 postal codes across northwest China, providing businesses faster access to UPS’s global smart logistics network and an up to a two-day reduction in transit times to destinations worldwide. In July, UPS also added five weekly flights between its intra-Asia hub in Shenzhen and Osaka Kansai Airport, Japan, to help improve intra-Asia trade connectivity and strengthen regional supply chain options for businesses across Asia.
Jiang, a Shanghai native, moves to his new role following assignments leading UPS Asia Pacific project strategy and as president for UPS in south Asia Pacific, where he led strategic growth initiatives in 28 markets across Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Fleet Advantage
Fleet Advantage, an innovator in truck fleet business analytics, equipment financing and life cycle cost management (LCCM), announced Brian Antonellis as its new senior vice president of fleet operations.
Antonellis has extensive experience with private fleets and has a keen understanding of fleet operations, asset management and equipment procurement. He previously worked as a corporate vice president of fleet operations for a dry bulk carrier and trucking company over the past three years, responsible for over 3,600 assets and 43 locations. His career began at Coca-Cola as a fleet manager, and he then went on to work at PepsiCo for seven years beginning as a fleet manager. Antonellis then became the director of fleet operations responsible for 102 locations.
Fleet Advantage has more than $1.5 billion of assets under its LCCM program and serves America’s top corporate fleets.