Brands
Michael Kors
Fashion luxury company Capri Holdings Limited announced that Joshua Schulman, CEO of Michael Kors, will leave the company.
The company also noted that John D. Idol will remain as chairman and CEO of Capri Holdings, which included the Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo brands covering women’s and men’s accessories, footwear and ready-to-wear as well as wearable technology, watches, jewelry, eyewear and a full line of fragrance products.
Adidas
Adidas appointed Adrian Siu as managing director of Adidas Greater China, effective at the beginning of April.
In this role, Siu will report directly to Roland Auschel, member of the executive board of Adidas AG responsible for global sales. He succeeds Jason Thomas, who will assume the new role of senior vice president (SVP) of global franchise.
Siu joined Adidas in 2002 as sales director, Adidas Hong Kong, and in 2009 assumed the role of managing director. In 2011, he took on the role of regional general manager of South China and moved to Shanghai working as SVP commercial for Greater China between 2016 and 2019. Since September 2019, Sui has been leading the transformation of local apparel brand Cosmo Lady as CEO, based in Shenzhen, China.
Thomas joined Adidas in 2003 as finance manager Middle East in Dubai. He then held the roles of vice president of finance Adidas emerging markets, and managing director Middle East & Africa before moving to Shanghai as SVP finance Asia-Pacific in 2017. In 2019, Thomas assumed the role of managing director Adidas Greater China.
Columbia Sportswear
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Columbia Sportswear Company appointment of Pri Shumate as chief marketing officer for the Columbia brand.
In this role, Shumate will report to Joe Boyle, executive vice president of the company and president of the Columbia brand, effective March 14.
Columbia Sportswear’s brands are sold in approximately 90 countries. In addition to the Columbia brand, Columbia Sportswear Company also owns the Mountain Hardwear, Sorel and prAna brands.
Textiles
Lenzing
The supervisory board of Lenzing AG appointed Stephan Sielaff, the former chief technology officer and chief operating officer (CTO/COO) at the manufacturer of wood-based cellulosic fibers, as the new CEO, effective April 1.
He succeeds Cord Prinzhorn, who took over as interim CEO in the fourth quarter of 2021. Prinzhorn will return to the Lenzing AG supervisory board.
Sielaff has held various management positions at Unilever and Symrise from 1993 to 2014. Between 2014 and 2020, he was responsible for the strategic development of the company as a member of the board of directors and COO at the Swiss specialty chemicals company Archroma. He was appointed CTO and COO of Lenzing on March 1, 2020.
In addition, chief financial officer Thomas Obendrauf informed the supervisory board that he will not be available for a further extension of his contract that expires in June. Also, Peter Edelmann will leave as chairman of the supervisory board upon his own request, effective April 26, and Prinzhorn will return to the board and will take over as chairman.
Edelmann has served as chairman since 2019, as well as sitting on all Lenzing AG committees.
Retail
M&S
Following the announcement that Steve Rowe is leaving the CEO post on May 25, M&S said it is implementing its planned succession process.
Stuart Machine will become CEO and will take on responsibility for day-to-day leadership of the business and the executive committee. Machine will continue to have oversight of his current portfolio of responsibilities, which includes the leadership of the food business, as well as operations, property, store development and technology. He will also take on responsibility for human resources and corporate communications.
Machine joined M&S in April 2018 as managing director of food, with nearly 30 years in the food, fashion and home retail sector. In May 2021, he was appointed joint chief operating officer.
Katie Bickerstaffe will become co-CEO with a particular focus on driving the global omnichannel, digital and data future for the business. Bickerstaffe will retain her existing portfolio, including responsibility for clothing and home, MS2, international and financial services.
She first served on the board of M&S as a non-executive director from 2018, before joining the M&S leadership team as chief strategy and transformation director in April 2020. In May 2021, she became joint chief operating officer.
Eoin Tonge becomes chief strategy and finance officer. In addition to his current responsibilities, he will play an enhanced role in leading the future development of the business. Tonge joined M&S in June 2020 as chief financial officer. In May 2021, his responsibilities were expanded to include strategy and transformation planning as part of his oversight responsibilities. As CFO, he is also a director of Ocado Retail Limited.
Rowe joined the business from school at the age of 15 and rose through the ranks, serving in multiple leadership roles to take over as CEO in 2016. During his tenure, Rowe oversaw far-reaching changes in organizational structure and management. He will cease full time employment with the business July 5 and has agreed to remain as an adviser to the new leadership for up to 12 months.
Dollar Tree
Dollar Tree announced that it will move forward with a reconstituted board of directors that includes current and new directors.
Under this plan, the board will include retail executive Richard Dreiling, a former CEO at competitor Dollar General, as executive chair; Paul Hilal, founder and CEO of activist investor Mantle Ridge, as vice chair; five other new directors and five continuing directors. The board will add a new finance committee and will restructure the existing nominating, governance and sustainability and compensation committees to create a new, separate committee focused on sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
In addition to Dreiling and Hilal, the company will benefit from the experience and backgrounds of five additional new independent directors: Ned Kelly, Cheryl Grisé, Daniel Heinrich, Mary Laschinger and Bertram Scott. Dollar Tree’s president and CEO, Michael Witynski, and current independent directors Thomas Dickson, Jeffrey Naylor, Winnie Park and Stephanie Stahl will continue serving on the board.
Consistent with the company’s previously disclosed waterfall strategy for director retirements and the planned departures of longer-tenured directors, Bob Sasser, Arnold Barron, Gregory Bridgeford, Lemuel Lewis, Carrie Wheeler and Thomas Whiddon will retire from the board.
Dollar Tree operated more than 16,000 discount stores in 48 states and five Canadian provinces as of Jan. 29 under the brands of Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada.
Jane.com
Jane.com, a curated boutique marketplace featuring fashion, accessories, home décor and children’s clothing, announced Joana McKenna as the company’s new CEO.
McKenna has held key leadership roles in sales, general management, product management, marketing, supply chain and operations at Walmart e-commerce, Johnson & Johnson and Amazon. McKenna will be focused on leading the company’s strategy around building out its growing platform and expanding brand awareness in a shifting retail environment.
The company is focused on providing a more curated customer experience that meets the evolving needs of consumers with an expanding set of product categories.
Trade
AAFA
The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) announced the renewal of its board of directors leadership, and the addition of eight new, appointed and re-elected board members.
Confirmed as AAFA’s board leadership for the 2022-2023 term were Sarah Clarke of PVH Corp. as chair, Ted Dagnese of Lululemon as vice chair, Josue Solano of BBC International as secretary, Katherine Gold of Goldbug as treasurer and Colin Browne of Under Armour Inc. as past chair.
Newly elected to the board were Sally Gilligan of Gap Inc., Rick Horwitch of Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services, David Katz of Randa Apparel & Accessories, Tom Lorang of Target Corp., Allison Murphy of TTI Global Resources, Melissa Nelson of SanMar, Liz O’Neill of Levi Strauss & Co. and Lisa Williams of Patagonia Inc.
Re-elected were Cameron Bailey of VF Corp., Thomas C. Chubb III of Oxford Industries, Abbey Doneger of The Doneger Group, Allan Ellinger of MMG Advisors, Edward A. Gribbin of Gribbin Strategic, Edward M. Manburg of Byer California, Michael Mansh of Pennsylvania Apparel, Luis Marquina of Intradeco Apparel Inc., Bruce Munro of Munro & Company, Joe Preston of New Balance Athletics Inc., James Schwartz of MGF Sourcing and Paula Zusi of Advent International Corp.
USTR
The Senate confirmed María L. Pagán as Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR), Geneva Office.
Pagán has spent almost three decades as a trade lawyer in the U.S. government. Before her confirmation, she served as the deputy general counsel at USTR provided legal advice to senior USTR officials on trade negotiations, implementation of trade agreements, and trade-related legislation and regulations. She was the lead lawyer for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Prior to joining USTR in 2003, Pagán worked as an attorney advisor in the Office of the Chief Counsel for International Commerce at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Logistics
FedEx Corp.
FedEx Corp. announced that Donald F. Colleran, president and CEO, FedEx Express, will retire, effective Dec. 31, after a nearly 40-year career at FedEx.
Richard W. Smith, regional president of the Americas and executive vice president of global support, will succeed Colleran as president and CEO of FedEx Express.
Colleran has served in several key leadership roles at FedEx since he joined from Flying Tigers in its acquisition by FedEx in 1989. In 1992, he moved to Tokyo and began a 12-year global career in international sales and operations management that took him from Tokyo to Hong Kong to Toronto, where he served as president of FedEx Express Canada. He then served as senior vice president of international sales before being appointed executive vice president and chief sales officer for FedEx Corp. in 2017. He assumed his current role as president and CEO of FedEx Express in 2019.
Smith will become president and CEO-elect of FedEx Express on April 1 and will assume full duties on Sept. 1. Colleran will remain at FedEx Express as the CEO executive advisor through the end of December to help ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities.
Smith joined FedEx in 2005. He previously served as the president and CEO of FedEx Logistics, and in a series of leadership positions in life sciences, healthcare, and customer solutions, including serving as vice president of global trade services and managing director of life sciences and specialty services.
Technology
DemandTec by Acoustic
DemandTec by Acoustic, a specialist in retail pricing, promotions and markdown technology, announced that chief revenue officer Anis Hadj-Taieb was named general manager.
In his new role with the company, Hadj-Taieb will be responsible for accelerating DemandTec’s growth and market leadership and will report directly to Acoustic CEO Dennis Self. DemandTec is a strategic business unit of Acoustic, along with Acoustic Marketing Cloud, an open marketing automation platform, and TeaLeaf by Acoustic, a consumer behavioral insights leader.
Before joining DemandTec in 2021, Hadj-Taieb served as global vice president of sales for GreyOrange.
Trade Shows
Global Licensing Group
Global Licensing Group appointed Laura Freedman-Dagg to the newly created role head of retail, licensing.
Prior to taking maternity leave, Freedman-Dagg held the position of event manager, Brand Licensing Europe, where she was integral in growing the trade show’s retail proposition, successfully attracting an increasing number of high-quality European retailers to attend the event each year.
In her new role, she will work across the business’s global event portfolio, including Licensing Expo, the European and North American Brand & Licensing Innovation Summits and Brand Licensing Europe, to continue to deliver engaging content and meaningful meetings for retailers and exhibitors.
Launched in 1998, Brand Licensing Europe is the only pan-European annual event dedicated to licensing and brand extension. The London event features over 2,500 brands and more than 7,500 licensees, manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and licensing agents. Brand Licensing Europe is a part of the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets, a major licensing industry’s trade show organizer and media partner. Its mission is to provide licensing opportunities around the world by bringing brands and products together. It takes place Sept. 20-21 2022 at ExCeL in London.