Jet.com
Walmart is ramping up its grocery business and Jet.com with a key executive hire. Jet.com tapped Simon Belsham as the president of Walmart’s Jet.com e-commerce business. As president, Belsham will manage various operations, including general merchandise and grocery. Belsham joins Jet.com from Notonthehighstreet.com, where he served as the personalized gift company’s CEO. Prior to Notonthehighstreet.com, Belsham worked at Tesco, where he helmed the U.K. retailer’s online grocery operations. He succeeds Liza Landsman, who previously left the company.
M&S
U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer announced new leadership changes as part of its ongoing transformation plan.
To attract more families, M&S clothing & home managing director Jill McDonald merged the retailer’s women’s wear and kid’s wear teams, and appointed Jill Stanton as the director to lead the merged team. Stanton, who will begin her new role this July, joins M&S from Old Navy, where she most recently served as the apparel retailer’s executive vice president and interim president.
M&S also hired Wes Taylor, who will join the retailer’s staff as men’s wear director in May. Taylor, who has more than 30 years of fashion retailing experience, helmed Burton, a men’s wear brand owned by Arcadia Group, as managing director for 11 years.
Working alongside Stanton will be Laura Charles and Neil Harrison. Charles was promoted to the role of lingerie director, while Harrison, who currently serves as home director, will pick up additional responsibilities for the M&S beauty division.
M&S men’s wear and kid’s wear director Michael Kerr, is leaving the retailer after 35 years to pursue other career opportunities. Queralt Ferrer, women’s wear and lingerie design director, is also exiting the company for personal reasons.
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Belinda Earl, who recently led women’s wear, is stepping down from her current role and will continue to serve as an advisor for M&S.
LVMH
Fashion veteran Virgil Abloh has been named Louis Vuitton’s men’s artistic director. Abloh will present his first Louis Vuitton collection during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris this June. In 2012, Abloh started his brand, Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh, which introduced a men’s and women’s fashion label in 2013. Over the past five years, the brand has held runway shows at Paris Fashion Week. Abloh was also a finalist for the LVMH Prize in 2015 and is recognized for his sensible luxury designs.
Harvey Nichols
Former Harvey Nichols boss Stacey Cartwright is exiting the U.K. retailer, following an executive management shakeup. Cartwright, who helmed the brand since 2014, stepped down from her role to become deputy chairman in September. During this time, the retailer announced that it would appoint two co-chief operating officers, Manju Malhotra and Daniela Rinaldi. Harvey Nichols’ owner, Dickson Poon, will remain chairman as part of this transition.
Kibo
Kibo, a cloud-based omnichannel commerce platform, hired David Post as its CEO. As CEO, Post will oversee the company’s product innovation initiatives. His resume includes previous stints at Vista Consulting Group, the operational consulting arm of Vista Equity Partners, Omnitracs, a fleet management software and systems company, and MRI Software, a property and investment management solutions leader.
VF Corp.
VF Corp. appointed Steve Murray as its vice president of strategic projects. Murray will collaborate with members of VF Corp. ‘s senior leadership team to elevate several strategic projects, including The North Face brand’s footwear product strategy. Murray returns to the company after previously serving as the president of VF Corp.’s Vans brand in 2004 and later as president of VF Corp.’s Action Sports coalition. He was most recently CEO of Airwair International (Dr. Martens), where he oversaw the company’s transformation to a consumer-focused global footwear retailer.
Gildan
Gildan Activewear nominated four new directors to its board: Maryse Bertrand, Marc Caira, Charles M. Herington and Craig Leavitt. Each of the director nominees will be voted on by Gildan’s shareholders at its upcoming annual shareholder meeting on May 3 in Montreal.
Bertrand, who is an advisor in corporate guidance and risk management, is a member of the National Bank of Canada’s board of directors and Metro Inc., a pharmaceutical distribution leader in Canada. He holds more than 35 years of experience in the law and business sectors.
Caira currently serves as the vice chairman of Restaurant Brands International Inc.’s board of directors. Previously, Caira served as the CEO and president of Tim Hortons Inc., a multinational fast food restaurant chain.
Herington is CEO, vice chairman and president of global operations at Zumba Fitness LLC, a global dance fitness company. His resume includes previous stints at Procter & Gamble Co and Revlon. Leavitt was most recently CEO of Kate Spade & Company. His resume includes previous stints at Diesel and Link Theory Holdings.
Dollar Days
Wholesaler and product marketplace Dollar Days named Jim Jacobs as chief financial officer, managing the company’s financial operations, including financial planning, reporting and treasury functions. Jacobs previously served as CFO of Just Goods Inc., a consumer products company focused on sustainability.
Scotch & Soda
Dutch fashion retailer Scotch & Soda hired Ralph Rijks as its chief marketing officer. Rijks will oversee the marketing department to grow Scotch & Soda’s international presence. Rijks joins Scotch & Soda from Heineken USA, where he most recently served as the beer company’s senior vice president.
Fenwick
Fenwick, a U.K.-based department store retailer, tapped Jeremy Collins as its property director. Collins, who has more than 35 years of retail experience, joins Fenwick from John Lewis, where he was the U.K. retailer’s property director for the past 14 years.
Berluti
Berluti, a men’s wear label owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, is losing another key executive. After leading the label for three seasons, creative director Haider Ackermann is stepping down from his post. His departure comes on the heels of other executive shuffles at LVMH, including the appointment of Kim Jones as Dior Homme’s creative director.