Retail
J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney Co. appointment six vice presidents, each with years of leadership, innovation and expertise.
Wendy Santana joined the company as vice president (VP) of business development. In this role, Santana will identify and oversee partnerships and strategic business initiatives. She joins J.C. Penney after 20 years at Li & Fung – LF Americas/Oxford Collections, where she most recently served as executive vice president (EVP). Santana reports to Truett Horne, senior vice president (SVP) and chief transformation officer.
Rounding out the senior marketing team under Shawn Gensch, EVP and chief customer officer, are Jill Feldman, VP of marketing, and Roger Worak, VP of customer engagement and insights. Feldman and Worak join VPs Dan Matarelli, VP of digital marketing, who recently served as director of digital marketing at Sprouts Farmers Market, and Robin Beuthin, VP of creative marketing.
Beuthin joined J.C. Penney in October from The Walt Disney Company, where she was VP of retail brand and creative.
Feldman will lead promotional planning, including brand, category, and product storytelling. She spent 11 years at Famous Footwear, most recently serving as VP, marketing and brand strategy.
In his role, Worak will lead all direct marketing, strategy and customer initiatives to identify insights that drive the business forward. Worak joins the company from Front Burner Brands Inc., where he was VP of digital engagement.
As J.C. Penney focuses heavily on reestablishing the fundamentals of retail, Jeff Csuy joined the company as VP of merchandise strategy and operations. In this role, Csuy will drive growth by leading the implementation of digital and physical merchandise strategies and initiatives, while partnering with leadership to ensure cross-divisional alignment. He joins from Joann Stores, where he most recently served as SVP of merchandising for sewing, everyday home, education, and services. Csuy reports to Michelle Wlazlo, EVP and chief merchant.
Kohl’s
Kohl’s Corp. announced that its board of directors increased the size of the board to 12 members and appointed Yael Cosset to fill the new seat.
Related Stories
Cosset has been appointed to a term expiring at Kohl’s 2020 annual shareholders meeting and will be standing for election by Kohl’s shareholders at that time. He will initially serve on the board’s governance and nominating committee.
Cosset is SVP and chief information officer of The Kroger Co. He previously served as global VP and chief digital officer of Kroger from January 2017 to February 2019.
TechStyle Fashion Group
TechStyle Fashion Group, a global fashion retailer known for its membership-based digital brands Fabletics, Savage X Fenty, JustFab, ShoeDazzle and FabKids, appointed Meera Bhatia as president of Expert Services, the company’s group for shared resources utilized across its brands.
In this role, Bhatia will oversee TechStyle divisions supporting the company’s five fast-growing global brands, leading business operations and strategy across technology, supply chain, fulfillment centers, global member services, media and acquisition and corporate communications.
Most recently, Bhatia served as chief operating officer at Stella & Dot, where she worked across all three Stella & Dot brands leading customer service, product management, engineering, fulfillment and e-commerce growth teams. Prior to that, Bhatia served as head of product management and marketing solutions at LinkedIn.
President of expert services is a newly created position within TechStyle and reflects the company’s success in centralizing functions such as data analytics, customer service, creative production, media buying, inventory management and more. She will be based at TechStyle’s global headquarters in El Segundo, Calif.
Brands
Centric Brands
Centric Brands Inc., a lifestyle brands collective, appointed Laura Ritchey as chief operating officer, reporting to CEO Jason Rabin.
As a member of the executive leadership team, Ritchey will be responsible for developing the global operating platform and have direct oversight for strategic sourcing, warehousing, logistics and information technology.
Ritchey has more than 20 years of experience leading retail, manufacturing, distribution and business operations. While at L Brands, where she served in senior leadership and executive operations roles, she led strategic initiatives that resulted in business processes enhancements from product concept to store, and improvements in end-to-end supply chain management. Most recently, she worked at FullBeauty Brands as chief operating officer, where she oversaw all retail operations.
Centric Brands’ portfolio includes more than 100 licensed brands, including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Spyder and Under Armour, in the kid’s category; Joe’s Jeans Buffalo Hervé Léger and BCBG in the men’s and women’s apparel category, and Kate Spade, Michael Kors, All Saints, Frye, Timberland, Kenneth Cole and Jessica Simpson in the accessories category. The company’s owned brands include Hudson, Robert Graham, Swims and Avirex.
Under Armour
Under Armour Inc. appointed Colin Browne as chief operating officer and Paul Fipps as chief experience officer, a newly created position. Both positions are effective Feb. 17 and report directly to president and CEO Patrik Frisk.
In his role, Browne has responsibility for the company’s supply chain and sourcing operations, demand planning, distribution, information technology, business process management, corporate real estate, asset protection and sustainability. Browne previously served as the company’s chief supply chain officer from 2017 to 2020, with responsibility for all global operations related to product sourcing and logistics.
In his post, Fipps is responsible for the company’s overall consumer experience and digital strategy, including global retail and e-commerce, connected fitness platform, software engineering, customer relationship management, human performance and data science functions. Previously, he served as chief digital officer from 2018 through 2020.
Tapestry
Tapestry Inc. announced a number of appointments to the company’s senior management team.
Liz Fraser has been named CEO and brand president of Kate Spade. She is expected to join the company on March 1 and will assume operational control of the brand from Joanne Crevoiserat, Tapestry’s chief financial officer, who has been leading the brand in an interim capacity since December.
In this role, Fraser will be responsible for all aspects of Kate Spade globally, working alongside the brand’s creative director, Nicola Glass, and its leadership team. Since 2018, Fraser has been president of Lafayette 148, a New York-based, vertically integrated, women’s fashion brand, where she was responsible for global sales and marketing, as well as design and merchandising, for apparel and accessories.
In addition, the company announced that Giorgio Sarné, currently president of Tapestry Asia and president and CEO of Coach Asia, will be promoted to CEO and brand president of Stuart Weitzman. He will succeed Eraldo Poletto, who has decided to leave the company, effective March 1.
In this role, Sarné will be responsible for all aspects of Stuart Weitzman globally, partnering closely with the brand’s head of product design, Edmundo Castillo. Sarné has been with the company since November 2013, holding progressively senior roles both in North America and Asia.
Emmanuel Ruelland, currently VP and general manager of Tapestry Southeast Asia & Oceania, will succeed Sarné as president of Coach Asia and will report to Joshua Schulman, CEO and brand president of Coach.
The company also announced that Yann Bozec, president of Tapestry China and president and CEO of Coach China, will be promoted to president of Tapestry Asia Pacific, while continuing as president and CEO of Coach China. Bozec joined Coach Japan in 2008 and has been instrumental in the brand’s development and growth in the region, notably its success in China. More recently, he has overseen the integration of both Kate Spade’s and Stuart Weitzman’s China operations onto the Tapestry platform.
Fraser, Sarné and Bozec will all join Tapestry’s executive committee.
Sam Edelman
Caleres announced that John McPhee will join the company as the president of the Sam Edelman brand, reporting directly to Sam Edelman.
He joins Caleres from Herman Miller Retail, where he served as president and chief operating officer since 2010. McPhee will partner with Edelman to continue building Sam Edelman as a premium brand and assisting in taking it to the next level.
Sam Edelman is a lifestyle brand devoted to a trend-on, irreverent and whimsical style, inspired by timeless American elegance that bridges the gap between aspiration and attainability to define modern luxury. With 13 flagship stores across the U.S. in premiere locations including SoHo, Palm Beach, and Beverly Hills, Sam Edelman continues to expand its international presence in cities from Hong Kong to Dubai.
Gaucho-Buenos Aires
Gaucho-Buenos Aires, an emerging luxury label, appointed in-house designer Lautaro Amadeo Tambutto as the brand’s creative director.
Tambutto’s role and primary duties as a designer will now be expanded, managing the conception, design and on-brand execution of materials for the brand. Tambutto will be working primarily out of the business’s headquarters in New York City, as well as the atelier in Buenos Aires’ upmarket Recoleta district.
Off the heels of a debut at New York Fashion Week in September, Tambutto joined the Gaucho-Buenos Aires brand in December.
Logistics
Ware2Go
Ware2Go Inc., an on-demand fulfillment platform owned by UPS, announced that Stephen Denton joined the company as CEO.
Denton previously served as general manager and VP of marketing solutions at eBay, where he was responsible for all eBay Enterprise digital and agency business. Since 2016, Denton has operated as the president and chief revenue officer at Collective[i], an AI sales technology firm.
Ware2Go provides small and midsize businesses with cost-efficient access to warehousing, fulfillment, technology and financial services.
Textiles
Eastman
The board of directors of Eastman Chemical Company elected Charles K. Stevens III as a director.
Stevens is a retired EVP and chief financial officer of General Motors Company. Stevens led GM’s global financial and accounting operations since 2013. He is also a member of the boards of Flex Ltd., Masco Corp. and Tenneco Inc.
Eastman, which had 2019 revenues of $9.3 billion and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tenn., is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of consumer products, including textile fibers.
Primaloft
Primaloft Inc. promoted Chris Humphris to SVP of global sales. This represents a strategic move to align North American, European and Asian sales efforts for the company.
Humphris has been supporting PrimaLoft in vital sales roles for more than 20 years and most recently held the position of SVP of sales, Americas. Previously, Humphris worked at Concept III, a U.S. and U.K.-based developer of performance products and a long-time partner of Primaloft.
In his new role, Humphris will remain based out of Primaloft headquarters in Latham, N.Y.
Ocean State Innovations
Ocean State Innovations, a textile solutions provider, appointed Brian Pinson as VP of sales.
Pinson will be working from Greenville, S.C., and report to the senior management of Ocean State Innovations. Pinson most recently served as sales manager for ITG Corp, and has also worked for Burlington Industries.
Ocean State Innovations, a Brand and Oppenheimer Company, is a supplier of garment linings, bindings, trims, piece goods, as well as textile dyeing and finishing and for the medical, industrial, automotive and apparel industries.
Trade Associations
Outdoor Industry Association
The Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) announced Lise Aangeenbrug as its new executive director.
Aangeenbrug is currently the executive director of the Outdoor Foundation, OIA’s philanthropic arm that focuses on getting kids and families outside. Aangeenbrug joined the Outdoor Foundation in early 2018 and transformed its work to provide multi-year capacity-building grants to underserved communities. Before joining the Outdoor Foundation, Aangeenbrug was EVP of the National Park Foundation.
Aangeenbrug will start her position as executive director of OIA in March after a thorough transition from her role at the Outdoor Foundation. She will remain as president of the Outdoor Foundation when she moves to OIA, and the foundation will start a search for a new executive director to continue the momentum of the important work to increase outdoor participation.
Technology
Impinj
Impinj Inc., a provider of RAIN RFID solutions for identifying, locating and authenticating everyday items, reported that its president and chief operating officer (COO), Eric Brodersen, has decided to step down, effective March 6.
Impinj does not plan to backfill the president and COO positions at the present time.
Impinj helps businesses and people analyze, optimize and innovate by wirelessly connecting billions of everyday things, such as apparel, automobile parts, luggage and shipments, to the Internet.