Marni
Luxury fashion label Marni appointed Stefano Biondo as its chief executive. Biondo joins Marni from Safilo, an Italian company that designs, produces and distributes eyewear, where he served as chief brand officer. He succeeds group chief executive Ubaldo Minelli.
Nike
Nike announced two new executive appointments focused on its global women’s and global running divisions. Rosemary St. Clair was appointed as vice president, general manager of global women’s, and Cesar Garcia was named as vice president, general manager of global running. St. Clair has held various roles at Nike over the past 31 years, including her most recent roles as vice president, general manager of field sports and specialty North America, and vice president, general manager of China running. Garcia, a 17-year Nike veteran, most recently served as vice president of merchandising and global running.
RILA
The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) hired Autumn Moore as its director of regulatory affairs and compliance. In her role, Moore will oversee activities for RILA’s Consumer Product Committee and work with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Trade Commission. Previously, Moore worked at The Toy Association, where she focused on product safety issues as the association’s manager of standards and regulatory affairs.
Columbia Sportswear
Michael Richardson was named as Columbia Sportswear’s vice president of global merchandising for the Columbia brand. With more than 25 years of retail experience, Richardson joins Columbia Sportswear from Gap Inc., where he held the title of vice president of franchise product for Gap Inc. and managed the product teams in buying, merchandising and planning for the Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy franchises.
Related Stories
Caleres
Caleres, a global footwear company, tapped Molly Adams as the president of Famous Footwear, effective May 29. In her role, Adams will focus on consumer engagement for Famous Footwear, which generated $1.6 billion in revenue and accounted for 59 percent of the revenue in the Caleres portfolio last year. Adams joins Caleres from The Walt Disney Company, where she worked as executive vice president of global merchandising and product development for the past decade. Prior to The Walt Disney Company, Adams held senior leadership roles at Anchor Blue Retail group and Stony Apparel Corporation.
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren is expanding its board of directors. The company plans to add Angela Ahrendts later this year, and it also appointed Michael George to serve on its board of directors. George, who serves as Qurate Retail’s chief executive and president, assumed his role on May 9, while Ahrendts, Apple Inc.’s senior vice president of retail, will be nominated at Ralph Lauren’s annual stockholders’ meeting in August.
Pentland-Lacoste Footwear JV
Gianni Georgiades was tapped as Pentland-Lacoste Footwear JV’s chief executive officer. Georgiades joins the company from Coach, where he most recently held the title of vice president of wholesale partnerships in Europe. A footwear and fashion veteran, his resume includes stints at Deckers, DSquared2, Harrods and Maison Martin Margiela.
Yoox Net-a-Porter Group
Yoox Net-a-Porter Group (YNAP) named Olivier Schaeffer its global chief operating officer, effective May 21. For the past 16 years, Schaeffer has held various leadership roles—including global chief operating officer—at Sephora, where he helped lead the beauty retailer’s omnichannel expansion.
Harrods
Harrods is shaking up its digital and marketing teams with leadership changes.
Amanda Hill was appointed as Harrods’ first chief marketing and customer officer. In her role, Hill will be responsible for the overall brand strategy of the department store and manage all customer relationship and marketing efforts, including in-store and e-commerce operations. Hill most recently served as chief marketing officer at A&E Networks in New York and previously held the title of chief brands officer at BBC Worldwide.
Other appointments announced by Harrods include Sarah Myler as communications director, Sandra Truesdale as head of digital marketing and Jodie Blackbrough as head of online content.
In addition to the leadership changes above, Alexander Wells-Greco, head of visual merchandising, will take over the role of creative visual director. Meanwhile Hill and Michael Ward, Harrods’ managing editor, will work with the online team to advance Harrods’ e-commerce efforts.