Brands
Design Holding
Design Holding appointed Daniel Lalonde as CEO, effective October.
Lalonde previously held senior leadership roles at global brands including SMCP, Ralph Lauren, LVMH and Nespresso. Gabriele Del Torchio will continue as non-executive chairman of Design Holding.
Most recently, Lalonde was president and CEO of SMCP, a French group that includes Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot & De Fursac, leading the company’s listing on Euronext Paris and overseeing a period of strong growth. Previously, he served as president of Ralph Lauren International.
Design Holding brings together B&B Italia, Flos, Louis Poulsen, Arclinea, as well as the U.S. e-commerce platform YDesign.
Founded in November 2018 and jointly controlled by entities from the two investment groups Investindustrial and The Carlyle Group, Design Holding recently launched a joint venture with Fendi (FF Design) to further develop the Fendi Casa business.
SMCP
Following the departure of Daniel Lalonde, SMCP appointed Isabelle Guichot as CEO.
Guichot joined SMCP as CEO of Maje in September 2017 and has since grown the brand while demonstrating her business and leadership skills. The company’s board of directors has tasked its Nomination and Compensation Committee to perform, alongside Guichot and deputy general manager Judith Milgrom, the search for a successor to as CEO of Maje.
Before joining SMCP, Guichot was CEO of Balenciaga and CEO at Sergio Rossi. SMCP is an accessible luxury player with four Parisian brands–Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot and Fursac.
Columbia Sportswear
Columbia Sportswear Company announced that Franco Fogliato, executive vice president of global omnichannel, notified the company of his intent to resign from his position, effective after a brief transition period ending Sept. 3.
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The company’s brands are sold in approximately 90 countries. In addition to the Columbia brand, Columbia Sportswear also owns the Mountain Hard Wear, Sorel and prAna brands.
Sustainability
SCS Global Services
SCS Global Services (SCS) announce that international branding and marketing expert Brandee Dallow joined the company as its new vice president of sustainability for luxury goods.
In this role, Dallow will support international expansion of SCS certification programs engaged in the fine jewelry, accessories and apparel industries. Founder and president of Fine Girl Luxury Brand Building & Communications, Dallow has been driving marketing communications initiatives for luxury brands for over 20 years. In her most recent role, she was the regional membership, business development and engagement lead for the Responsible Jewelry Council in North America.
Headquartered in Emeryville, Calif., SCS Global Services conducts third-party environmental and sustainability verification, certification, auditing, testing and standards development. Its programs span a cross-section of industries, recognizing achievements in natural resource management, green building, product manufacturing, food and agriculture, supply chains and climate mitigation.
Apparel Impact Institute
The Apparel Impact Institute (Aii), which drives scalable solutions for the apparel and footwear industry, expanded its leadership with two new members joining its board of directors and announced a new chair.
Melissa Fifield, head of corporate social responsibility and sustainability at Bank of the West, and Amanda Tucker, vice president of responsible sourcing and sustainability at Target Corp., bring their expertise in finance and brand sustainability to the organization.
In her role at Bank of the West, Fifeld is responsible for leading and reporting on the bank’s sustainability actions and other CSR commitments. In addition to spending 14 years at Gap Inc. in various sustainability and environmentally focused roles, Fifield also recently served on the board of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.
Tucker is Target Corp.’s new vice president of responsible sourcing and sustainability. Tucker joined Target in March. She also held a variety of senior roles in sustainable manufacturing and sourcing during a 21-year career at Nike, including as the general manager for Vietnam and Italy. Tucker also worked in Switzerland for the International Labor Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, and at the U.S. Council for International Business in New York City.
Aii also said Punit Lalbhai, executive director of Arvind Ltd. and a board member since 2018, will step into the role of board chair for 2021.
Textiles
GOTS
Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) named five new staff members who are experts in their respective fields, ranging from the first representative in Africa to the spheres of the digital world,
Two new members were added to the GOTS Standard Development and Quality Assurance team. Bükra Kalaycı, a textile engineer, was appointed to the newly created position of responsible, standard development and implementation (ecology) at GOTS. She will continue to develop the ecology pillar as well as ensure an efficient implementation of the GOTS standard. Bükra is based in Turkey.
Ruslan Alyamkin was as responsible, standard development and implementation (social responsibility). Ruslan has worked with international, governmental and non-governmental organizations and will help GOTS in ensuring the standard continues its development in the social responsibility pillar. He is based in Germany.
Prachi Gupta is now designated responsible, quality assurance and impact. Gupta is based in India.
Muktar Dodo is the newly appointed GOTS representative in Africa. He is responsible for enhancing GOTS on the continent that is quickly becoming a sourcing destination for major markets. Dodo is based in Nigeria.
In order to meet the growing demand on digitalization, data processing and marketing, two specialists in their respective fields were hired. Swati More has taken on the role as IT specialist and formally joined GOTS on July 19. More is based in India.
Holger Stripf was appointed GOTS head of marketing. Holger has worked for corporations in Australia, the U.S. and Germany and spent the last nine years in senior marketing positions at Heine, a member of the Otto Group. Next to his strategic marketing focus, Holger has also taken over the responsibilities of Juliane Ziegler, who was been appointed the new GOTS representative in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Holger is based in Germany.
Retail
Poshmark
Poshmark Inc., a social marketplace for new and secondhand styles, appointed Ebony Beckwith, chief philanthropy officer at Salesforce and CEO of the Salesforce Foundation, to its board of directors.
With the appointment of Beckwith, Poshmark’s board consists of eight members. Beckwith brings over two decades of experience in technology, operations and philanthropy. She serves on the boards of the Warriors Community Foundation and Hamilton Families.
Academy Sports and Outdoors
Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc. announced the appointment of Sharen J. Turney to its board of directors, compensation committee and nominating and governance committee.
Academy also announced today that Nathaniel (Nate) Taylor will step down as a member of the governance committee. With these changes, Academy’s Board now comprises nine directors and the governance Committee is now comprised entirely of independent members.
Turney previously served as CEO of Russia-based denim brand Gloria Jeans.
Academy has 259 stores across 16 states. Its product assortment focuses on key categories of outdoor, apparel, footwear and sports and recreation.