Retail
Nordstrom
Nordstrom Inc. appointed two new senior executive leaders.
Deniz Anders was promoted to senior vice president and chief marketing officer, and Nina Barjesteh, a senior executive at Dick’s Sporting Goods, will join the company as president, Nordstrom Product Group.
In her new role, Anders will lead all marketing efforts, including brand programs, digital marketing, creative strategy and corporate affairs. Anders has been with the company for 22 years, most recently serving as vice president of marketing. She steps into the role previously held by Scott Meden, who announced his retirement earlier this year.
Barjesteh was senior vice president of product development and design for Dick’s.
Saks
Luxury e-commerce platform Saks appointed Dr. Alicia Williams as vice president (VP) of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Williams previously served as executive director, head of diversity and inclusion for U.S. Banks at Morgan Stanley, where she led the DEI strategy, talent management and impact for the business. Prior to this, she was VP and diversity lead and the head of the North American Analyst and Associate campus recruiting program for JP Morgan’s Investment Banking, Wholesale Payments and Global Corporate Banking businesses.
In her new role, Williams is part of Saks’ ESG team, led by Cara Chacon, who joined Saks as senior VP, ESG, in April. She will also work closely with Saks’ DEI Council, Inclusion Advocates and ERGs.
RILA
The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) announced that Sarah Gilmore joined the association as its new director of supply chain.
At RILA, Gilmore’s focus will be on policy improvements needed to modernize U.S. supply chains.
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Gilmore comes to RILA after working at Airlines for America, where she advocated for the airline industry as it navigated extraordinary challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Primark
John Bason, who will be retiring as finance director and will be stepping down from the board of Associated British Foods, will become chairman of a newly constituted Strategic Advisory Board and senior advisor at the company’s retail business, Primark.
The Primark Strategic Advisory Board will provide external expertise to Paul Marchant, Primark CEO, and to the Primark leadership team as the business continues its expansion and development. The board will have members chosen for specific and relevant areas of expertise and will not have a governance role. Primark’s financial and operational reporting relationship with ABF will remain unchanged.
Bason was appointed as finance director of ABF in May 1999.
Dollar Tree
Dollar Tree Inc. announced that Bobby Aflatooni joined the organization as chief information officer (CIO).
Aflatooni most recently served as executive vice president and CIO for The Howard Hughes Corporation, responsible for leading all information technology strategies and operations across the company’s portfolio.
Dollar Tree operated 16,162 stores across 48 states and five Canadian provinces as of April 30. Stores operate under the brands of Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada.
Getzler Henrich & Associates
Michael Appel, former CEO of Rue 21, was named managing director of the retail turnaround and restructuring practice of Getzler Henrich & Associates, a middle-market corporate restructurings and operations improvement company.
In this role, Appel will help Getzler Henrich build a best-in-class national retail turnaround and restructuring practice. Based in the Getzler Henrich New York City office, he will be the senior leader developing the business strategy, recruiting key executives and managing the practice.
Academy Sports and Outdoors
Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc. appointed Theresa E. Palermo to its board of directors and Nominating and Governance Committee.
Palermo has served as senior vice president for connected commerce and marketing at Signet Jewelers Limited since October 2019.
Academy Sports + Outdoors is a full-line sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer in the United States, with 260 stores across 16 states.
Brands
PVH
PVH Corp. appointed David Savman as executive vice president and chief supply chain officer.
Sayman will join PVH later this year from H&M Group, where he spent 19 years, most recently as head of global supply chain. He succeeds Sarah Clarke, who is leaving PVH as of Oct. 31, to pursue other interests.
Savman will be responsible for the global supply chain and sourcing strategy for PVH’s brands, including Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, and will report to CEO Stefan Larsson.
Dovetail Workwear
Dovetail Workwear promoted Molly Smithson Callahan to marketing manager.
Callahan joined Dovetail in 2018 as a digital marketing consultant with emphasis on social and email campaigns and content creation. Over the past eight months, she’s parlayed her knowledge and experience into her newly appointed role overseeing all marketing efforts for the women-specific workwear brand.
Based in Portland, Ore., Dovetail Workwear can be found in 300 stores across 47 states.
Altar’d State
Stand Out For Good Inc., parent company of women’s fashion brand Altar’d State, announced Tana Ward as brand president of a new contemporary home brand, leading the San Francisco-based team.
Tana served as chief merchandising officer at American Eagle Outfitters and Restoration Hardware, and was most recently co-president at Ben Soleimani.
Most recently, the company announced the addition of Leila Heydari as head of design for Altar’d State. She will be leading the new Altar’d State design office in Los Angeles.
Halston
Xcel Brands Inc. a media and consumer products company, appointed Ken Downing as creative director of the Halston brand, effective Aug. 1.
Downing will oversee the evolution of Halston in his new role and serve as the public face and voice of the brand, including through hosting Halston livestream sessions over all screens. Downing previously served as senior vice president and fashion director for Neiman Marcus.
Xcel Brands produces and distributes apparel and accessories under the Halston label, available at premium retailers including Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s Macy’s and HSN.
Textiles
Better Cotton
Following the Better Cotton 2022 Council Election, four new members joined the Better Cotton Council, an elected and appointed board that works together to drive cotton toward a sustainable future.
The new council members are Arvind Rewal, cotton development manager of Ikea;, Olam Agri, Gerson Fajardo, director of sustainability, raw materials and benchmarking for Walmart; Ashok Hegde, CEO of fiber, industrial and AG services at Olam Agri, and Bob Dall’Alba, former CEO for Queensland cotton at Auscott.
The four new council members will commence their duties in September.
Technology
StackCommerce
Content and commerce innovator StackCommerce named Don LeBlanc CEO.
LeBlanc will direct the business’s continued push to integrate digital technologies, decrease commerce friction, support additional partners and curate innovative products from a wider variety of sources.
Prior to StackCommerce he was chief commercial officer at Simplisafe, a home security provider owned by Hellman & Friedman. Previous to that, he was president of Vistaprint Corporate Solutions.
TPG’s Integrated Media acquired a majority stake in StackCommerce in December 2020, and StackCommerce acquired BrandCycle in December 2021 and The Fascination in April 2022.
MakerSights
MakerSights, a management workspace for retail brands, announced Ashish Agrawal has joined its executive leadership team as senior vice president of product.
Agrawal will continue to advance the MakerSights Workspace toward better supporting and connecting every team that participates in the product creation and go-to-market strategies at retail brands through integrations, advanced analytics and automation.
Agrawal spent the last three years at NuORDER, a wholesale e-commerce platform helping brands and retailers drive sales.
The MakerSights Workspace unites cross-functional teams, from design and product to merchandising and consumer insights, to test ideas and in-development products with target consumers at scale.
Finance
Gordon Brothers
Mark Forrest has joined Gordon Brothers, the global advisory, restructuring and investment firm, as director, business development.
Forrest will expand Gordon Brothers’ integrated service offerings and presence in the Midwest. Prior to joining Gordon Brothers, Forrest was a managing director at a leading corporate and investment bank responsible for originating, structuring and syndicating asset-based loans for clients and financial sponsors across a range of industries, including transportation and logistics, metals, mining and manufacturing.