Textiles
Milliken
Milliken & Company named Jeff Price executive vice president of operations. The textile company also appointed Chad McAllister to succeed Price as president of Milliken’s Performance & Protective Textiles division.
Price was tapped to spearhead a new comprehensive corporate function at Milliken, overseeing corporate logistics and sourcing; environmental, health and safety; corporate engineering; global security, and Milliken’s consulting arm, Performance Solutions by Milliken.
McAllister joined Milliken’s Chemical division in 2001, where he supported many initiatives including international business growth. He went on to hold finance and strategy positions in corporate development and the company’s airbag business. In 2010, McAllister joined Milliken’s Performance & Protective Textiles division as chief financial officer.
The Performance & Protective Textile division of Milliken & Company, based in Spartanburg S.C., offers a diverse portfolio of technical textiles serving a broad range of global markets, including apparel, automotive and transportation, building and infrastructure, hospitality, industrial, military, specialty interiors, and protective workwear.
Aurora Specialty Textiles Group
Marcia Ayala was named president of Aurora Specialty Textiles Group Inc., a subsidiary of Milwaukee-based Meridian Industries.
Ayala, who started at Aurora in 2006 as director of research and development (R&D), was promoted to vice president of R&D in 2014 and promoted again to company vice president in 2015.
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Ayala played a key leadership role at Aurora during the company’s recent transition from its former plant in Aurora, Ill., to a new manufacturing facility in Yorkville. That move involved bringing in a new generation of textile equipment and technology.
Aurora Specialty Textiles Group specializes in coating, dyeing and finishing of woven and non-woven fabrics.
Eastman Chemical Company
Eastman Chemical Company announced that David A. Golden, senior vice president, chief legal and sustainability officer and corporate secretary, elected to retire after 25 years of service to pursue other opportunities.
Clark L. Jordan, currently Eastman’s vice president, global trade and compliance and assistant general counsel, will become interim chief legal officer and corporate secretary, effective Aug. 1.
Jordan has served in his current position since 2015. He was an Eastman in-house attorney from 1995 to 1997, in private practice from 1997 to 2007, and served as deputy general counsel and compliance officer for North America at Clariant Corp. from 2007 until 2011, when he rejoined Eastman.
Fiber Industries
Fiber Industries, a manufacturer of polyester staple fiber based in Darlington, S.C., announced Donald Bockoven as its new CEO. Concurrently, Andrew Rosenfeld was named vice chairman of the company.
Most recently, Bockoven served as president and CEO of Leigh Fibers, a fiber supply business. Prior to that, he held senior management positions at Hollingsworth & Vose, Invista and DuPont.
Bockoven currently serves on the board of the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership and was recently appointed to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
Export-Import Bank
Kathie Leonard, president and CEO of Auburn Manufacturing Inc. and a board member of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), was appointed to serve as the U.S. textile industry representative on the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank 2019 Advisory Committee.
In her role, Leonard will provide recommendations on export financing products to the Ex-Im board of directors and the bank’s president. NCTO president and CEO Kim Glas said Leonard will be the voice of the industry at the table and help support the U.S. textile industry, which has seen a significant increase in its exports, particularly to the Western Hemisphere.
Auburn Manufacturing, based in Mechanic Falls, Maine, producing heat-and fire-resistant textiles used worldwide by industries such as ship building/repair, foundries, mining, aerospace and power generation.
Retail
Qurate Retail Group
Qurate Retail Group appointed Leslie Ferraro to the newly created role of president of QxH, effective Sept. 16.
In this role, Ferraro will lead Qurate Retail’s largest business unit, comprising its QVC and HSN brands in the U.S., reporting to Mike George, president and CEO of Qurate Retail Inc. Ferraro’s primary focus will be to advance the company’s growth strategies by leveraging the power of video, storytelling and curated retail experiences on new and next-generation platforms.
Reporting to Ferraro will be Mary Campbell and Mike Fitzharris, who will remain in their current leadership roles and as members of the company’s global executive team. As chief merchandising officer of QRG and chief commerce officer of QVC U.S., Campbell will continue to lead Qurate Retail Group’s overall merchandising strategy, QxH digital and marketing strategy, and QVC U.S. brand and commerce operations.
Fitzharris, president of HSN, will continue to lead HSN brand and commerce operations and QxH video platform expansion and distribution, as well as oversee the HSN St. Petersburg, Fla., campus.
Ferraro brings to Qurate Retail a 17-year track record of achievement at the Walt Disney Company, most recently as co-chair of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media, and president of Disney Consumer Products.
Qurate Retail Group comprises seven retail brands–QVC, HSN, Zulily, Ballard Designs, Frontgate, Garnet Hill and Grandin Road–all dedicated to providing a Third Way to Shop, beyond transactional e-commerce or traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Headquartered in West Chester, Pa., Qurate Retail Group has 27,000 employees in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Japan, Italy, Poland and China.
J.C. Penney
J C. Penney Co. announced that James DePaul was named executive vice president of stores, effective Aug. 5, reporting directly to CEO Jill Soltau.
DePaul will be responsible for improving in-store and omnichannel operations as part of the company’s focus on transforming the customer experience to grow traffic, engagement and customer retention. Mike Robbins, executive vice president of stores and supply chain, will be leaving the organization, effective Aug. 3.
In his new post, DePaul will oversee the company’s stores, store operations, store environment and design, and asset protection teams to deliver a fulfilling and productive customer experience. He joins J.C. Penney from Shopko Stores, where he served as chief operations officer, with responsibility for stores, pharmacy, optical, supply chain, e-commerce operations, non-merchandise procurement, store operations, store development, loss prevention and merchandise support.
Nordstrom
Nordstrom Inc. announced Ann Munson Steines joined the company as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary.
In this role, Steines will serve as member of the company’s executive team and will oversee the company’s legal and risk department. As general counsel, Steines is accountable for Nordstrom’s risk management strategies and policies, and will provide strategic counsel on legal, risk, business and operational matters.
Robert Sari retired as the company’s general counsel in March. Sheryl Garland has served as corporate secretary and interim general counsel since his retirement and will continue in her role as vice president and deputy general counsel.
Steines joins Nordstrom from Macy’s, where she most recently served as senior vice president, deputy general counsel and assistant secretary since 2009.
Brands
Vans
VF Corp. appointed Michel Bilodeau as vice president and general manager of Vans EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Currently vice president and general manager of VF Outdoor & Action Sports for Canada, Bilodeau will transition into his new role by October.
Bilodeau joined VF in 2009 as general manager for Vans Canada. He most recently held the role of general manager of VF Outdoor & Action Sports Canada, where he was responsible for overseeing the Canadian businesses for The North Face, Timberland, Vans, Smartwool and JanSport.
Logistics
Optym
Optym, a privately held specialist in new-generation automation and optimization software for transportation and logistics companies in the airline, railroad and trucking industries, appointed Vic Keller to its board of directors.
Keller is currently managing director for Ancor Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm in Southlake, Tex. Keller most recently acquired STATinMED Research, where he serves as chairman.
Since its inception almost 20 years ago, Optym has developed software solutions for some of the most complex problems in transportation, including optimizing routing plans for less-than-truckload companies to reduce their drivers’ cost.
Optym’s global headquarters is located Gainesville, Fla., with additional offices in Yerevan, Armenia; Bangalore, India, and Perth, Australia.