Brands
Deisel
Massimo Piombini, the former CEO of Balmain, was appointed CEO of Diesel.
He will join the Italian-based company in February and report to parent company OTB CEO Ubaldo Minelli.
Massimo Piombini’s latest experience was at Balmain, where he was CEO for the last three years. Before that, he spent over a decade at Valentino as commercial director.
In his new role, Poimbini will lead the company of 5,000 employees in a journey back to its roots—a move recently initiated by Diesel founder Renzo Rosso after a period of declining sales.
After filing for bankruptcy protection in March, Rosso made staffing changes and pivoted business strategies to lead the brand’s comeback, resulting in a return to profitability.
Brioni
Kering announced the appointment of Mehdi Benabadji as CEO of men’s wear brand Brioni, effective Jan. 1.
Benabadji will report to Jean-François Palus, group managing director of Kering. He has held a series of operational and executive positions within Kering since 2003. Most recently, he was chief operations officer in charge of the group’s logistics and industrial activities.
Benabadji takes over from Fabrizio Malverdi, who has decided to leave the company to pursue a new professional challenge.
Crocs
Footwear company Crocs Inc. appointed Beth J. Kaplan to its board of directors, effective Jan. 1.
Kaplan currently serves as a managing member of Axcel Partners LLC, investing in consumer-facing early stage and growth companies. In addition, she is currently a director of the Meredith Corp. and the Howard Hughes Corp, and is a director and advisor at Rent The Runway, Framebridge, Care/of and Leesa Sleep.
Retail
Hibbett Sports
Hibbett Sports Inc. named Michael E. Longo as president and CEO.
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Longo succeeds Jeff Rosenthal, who announced his planned retirement in March. In addition, effective with his appointment as CEO, Longo will replace Rosenthal on the company’s board of directors.
Longo served as CEO for Memphis-based City Gear LLC, where he oversaw the successful acquisition of the company in 2018 by Hibbett Sports. Prior to City Gear, he worked in positions of increasing leadership roles with AutoZone Inc.
Hibbett, headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., is an athletic-inspired fashion retailer with approximately 1,100 stores under the Hibbett Sports and City Gear banners, primarily located in small and mid-sized communities.
ShopStyle
ShopStyle Inc., a fashion and lifestyle shopping platform, appointed two new general managers.
Alison Stiefel was promoted to general manager of ShopStyle.com and Lindsay Jerutis will become general manager of ShopStyle Collective, effective Jan. 6.
Stiefel will oversee all business functions of ShopStyle.com, including collaborating with retailers and brands to create and inspire global fashion trends, and further developing its membership rewards program to increase loyalty and grow sales. She has been with ShopStyle as vice president of marketing since 2016.
Jerutis will be the new head of ShopStyle Collective, the influencer network and content monetization platform that helps thousands of content creators. Most recently, she was vice president of commerce content and strategy at Meredith Corporation. Her top priorities will be recruiting new influencers and driving affiliate revenue.
Hudson’s Bay Company
Hudson’s Bay Company’s (HBC) chief financial officer (CFO), Ed Record, will return from medical leave and resume his duties. With his return, Becky Roof, a managing director with AlixPartners LLC, will step down as interim CFO.
Record joined HBC as CFO in August 2017 and has been focused on streamlining the company and improving the company’s balance sheet. HBC is a diversified retailer with a portfolio that includes nearly 250 stores and approximately 30,000 employees around the world. HBC’s businesses across North America include Saks Fifth Avenue, Hudson’s Bay and Saks Off 5th.
BJ’s Wholesale Club
BJ’s Wholesale Club named Christopher J. Baldwin as executive chairman and Lee Delaney to succeed Baldwin as CEO.
In addition, Thomas A. Kingsbury, the former CEO of Burlington Stores Inc., was appointed to the board. Delaney, currently president of the company, was also appointed to the company’s board. The changes are effective Feb. 2.
In his role as executive chairman, Baldwin, who joined the company and the board in 2015 as president and chief operating officer and director before being named CEO in February 2016 and chairman in 2018, will serve as a strategic advisor to Delaney and will lead the board of directors.
Delaney joined BJ’s in 2016 as executive vice president (EVP) and chief growth officer. Kingsbury replaces Cameron Breitner, who is stepping down from the board. Kingsbury served as CEO of Burlington from 2008 to 2019.
Headquartered in Westborough, Mass., BJ’s operates 219 wholesale clubs and 144 BJ’s Gas locations in 17 states.
Logistics
Maersk
Taking steps toward a more integrated company, Maersk changed the structure of its executive board by appointing Vincent Clerc as CEO of Ocean and Logistics, and Henriette Hallberg Thygesen as CEO of Towage, Manufacturing & Others.
Clerc’s appointment unites the teams in operations focused on ocean delivery with the commercial team to ensure a better offering of integrated services to our more than 70,000 customers and to facilitate end-to-end process thinking. Thygesen, who is also appointed to the executive board, will be responsible for all independent businesses ensuring focus on their performance as well as fleet management and other enabling functions to drive additional synergies.
The new composition of the executive board also includes Søren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk; Morten Engelstoft, EVP of A.P. Moller-Maersk and CEO for APM Terminals, and Carolina Dybeck Happe, CFO of A.P. Moller-Maersk.
IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced changes to its strategic leadership team and corporate structure.
Effective Jan. 1, Aleks Popovich, currently senior vice president for financial and distribution services, will lead a newly formed Customer and Business Services (CBS) division. CBS will manage the operations of IATA’s industry settlement systems, central sales and marketing, and its customer service.
Mark Hubble, IATA’s senior vice president for aviation solutions, will retire from IATA after 16 years of service. The Marketing and Commercial Services division he led will be dissolved, with its functions largely incorporated in the newly formed CBS division.
Popovich will also lead on an interim basis a newly formed Financial, Distribution and Data Services (FDDS) division that will group the association’s work on digital transformation, efficient industry processes, product differentiation and business intelligence. This division will replace the former Financial and Distribution Services division.
IATA also announced that its board of governors will recommend an extension of the term of office of Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO, to the association’s annual general meeting. De Juniac’s current term is due to end in August.
Technology
Voxel8
Voxel8, a multi-material digital manufacturing company for footwear and apparel, appointed Dr. Friedrich von Gottberg as president and CEO and to its board of directors.
Travis Busbee, co-founder and previous CEO, will assume the full-time role of chief technology officer, allowing him to focus on product development and the research and development of innovative new technologies.
Prior to joining Voxel8, von Gottberg was with Cabot Corporation for over 20 years, most recently as senior vice president.