Retail
Qurate
Qurate Retail announced that Ian W. Bailey joined the company as senior vice president of communications and community.
In this role, Bailey will be responsible for developing and implementing communications strategies that engage team members around the world, raise awareness of the company’s value proposition, demonstrate the power of its portfolio of leading retail brands, and highlight its innovative leadership across the retail, media and social landscape. He will also focus on accelerating Qurate’s corporate responsibility and community support initiatives. He will lead the company’s corporate communications, financial communications, internal communications, corporate responsibility and consumer public relations teams.
Bailey assumes his new role and joins the company’s executive leadership team, reporting to Mike George, president and CEO of Qurate Retail. Bailey is based at Qurate Retail Group’s global headquarters in West Chester, Pa.
Bailey joins Qurate Retail from Abercrombie & Fitch Co., where he was vice president and head of communications and public relations. He has also held senior leadership roles with Hill+Knowlton Strategies and Weber Shandwick.
Qurate Retail Group comprises eight retail brands: QVC, HSN, Zulily, Ballard Designs, Frontgate, Garnet Hill, Grandin Road and Ryllace, all providing a “Third Way to Shop” beyond transactional e-commerce or traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Globally, Qurate Retail Group is No. 1 in video commerce, reaching approximately 380 million homes worldwide via 15 television networks and multiple e-commerce sites, social pages, mobile apps, print catalogs and in-store destinations.
Textiles
American Textile Company
Pittsburgh-based bedding manufacturer American Textile Company announced key additions to its leadership team with the hiring of Brian Lehr as vice president of e-commerce and Doug Venuti as vice president of information technology.
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The additions support a strategic move to support growing consumer demand amid increasingly diverse retailer needs. Lehr and Venuti will help the company drive deeper digital transformation internally and externally.
This announcement follows the company’s rapid e-commerce growth driven by new products such as Tranquility weighted blankets, and key brands including AllerEase, Sealy and Tempur-Pedic. As retailers seek to grow their omnichannel capabilities, American Textile Company is broadening its capabilities to support the enhanced e-commerce and information technology systems needed to help them thrive in the ever-changing retail market.
Lehr will oversee the firm’s e-commerce growth strategy and drive its implementation across channels. Prior to this role, Lehr managed the e-commerce team at American Licorice Company, where he drove significant growth in the e-commerce business.
Venuti will develop and execute technology solutions across all areas of the company. Previously, he served in IT leadership roles at Dick’s Sporting Goods and Talbots Inc.
Government
USDA
U.S. Department of Agriculture chief economist Robert Johansson announced the appointment of Dr. Cindy Nickerson as a deputy chief economist, effective June 7.
In her role as deputy chief economist for policy analysis, Nickerson advises the chief economist, the secretary of agriculture, and top policy officials regarding the economic implications of programs, regulations and legislative proposals affecting the U.S. food system and rural areas.
Prior to joining the office of the chief economist, Nickerson served as director of the market and trade economics division at the Economic Research Service. In that role, she led a comprehensive program of research on the demand for economic information on agricultural commodity market and trade related issues.
Technology
Threekit
Threekit, a platform that lets buyers configure and customize their products in 3D, augmented reality (AR), and via Virtual Photographer, welcomed Matt Gorniak as CEO.
The move accelerates Threekit’s mission to be a leading visual technology that brings products to life in the multitrillion-dollar e-commerce ecosystem.
Gorniak most recently served as chief revenue officer and is the co-founder of G2, a marketplace for business software reviews that has raised more than $100 million. He will continue to build Threekit’s global go-to-market teams and expand its product integrations and partnerships with platforms including Adobe, Salesforce, Shopify, SAP and Oracle.
In November, Shasta Ventures and Salesforce Ventures backed Threekit in a Series A round of $20 million. Threekit’s software platform enables companies to create 3D, photorealistic images and augmented reality without the need for photography. Earlier this month, Threekit rolled out its latest product, configurable augmented reality, which allows shoppers to see and customize millions of product variations in AR. Threekit is headquartered in Chicago with a technology innovation center in Ottawa, Canada.
Berkshire Grey
Berkshire Grey, a robotics and AI company developing retail, e-commerce, and logistics fulfillment automation for global companies, appointed Christine Washburn as chief marketing officer (CMO).
Washburn joins the executive team and will report directly to Steve Johnson, president and chief operating officer.
As CMO, Washburn will drive Berkshire Grey’s marketing strategy, lead generation, brand management, product marketing, and overall marketing planning and execution. Washburn joins Berkshire Grey from Rocket Software, a modernization software company, where she served as CMO and was a member of the executive team that positioned Rocket for acquisition by Bain Capital for $2 billion.