Industry Moves: Furla & Puig Get New CEOs & More
March 28, 2017: Spanish fashion conglomerate Puig promoted José Manuel Albesa to the role of CEO, where he will lead fashion houses Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci, Paco Rabanne and Jean Paul Gaultier. He will also continue his current role as chief brand officer at the family-owned firm. Ralph Toledano, who joined as president of Puig Fashion five years ago, resigned from his role. Prior to his resignation, Toledano had also served as chief executive of Nina Ricci and Jean Paul Gaultier.
March 28, 2017: Italian handbag and accessories maker Furla has appointed former managing director Alberto Camerlengo as its new CEO. Former CEO Eraldo Poletto stepped down in May 2016 and became Salvatore Ferragamo’s chief executive in August.
March 24, 2017: Zappos President Steve Hill will step down from his post in June. In a memo to employees today, Hill — who had been with the shoe e-tailer for more than 12 years — said he would join former Zappos veteran Fred Mossler in launching a footwear brand in Las Vegas. After 17 years at Zappos, Mossler stepped down in June.
March 22, 2017: Sequential Brands Group Inc. announced that Karen Murray has been appointed CEO. Murray — who most recently served as president of VF Sportswear at VF Corp., will also serve as a director of the company. She is replacing Yehuda Shmidman, who stepped down from his position at the company and as a member of the board of directors.
March 20, 2017: Burberry has named Sabrina Bonesi its design director of leather goods and shoes, a newly created role. Bonesi, a leather-goods expert who previously worked at Dior, will be responsible for men’s and women’s bags, shoes and accessories. She will report directly to Christopher Bailey, chief creative officer and CEO.
March 17, 2017: Kering has appointed Fabrizio Malverdi as CEO of Brioni, effective April 18. Malverdi will report to Jean-François Palus, Kering’s group managing director. Malverdi has held management roles at several luxury companies, including Dior Homme, Givenchy and John Galliano. Since 2016, he’s been CEO of Agent Provocateur. In his new role, he will replace Gianluca Flore, who left Kering in February.
March 16, 2017: Wolverine World Wide Inc. has made two new appointments at its Wolverine brand. John Estes has been named VP of global sales, and Andy Shripka has been hired as VP of marketing. Estes most recently served as VP and GM of Wolverine Worldwide’s Sebago brand. Before that, he served as VP and GM of the company’s Harley-Davidson Footwear label. Prior to joining Wolverine, Shripka held leadership posts held at Kellogg’s and Meijer.
March 16, 2017: Clare Waight Keller, formerly of Chloé, has been named the new artistic director of Givenchy. The British designer succeeds Riccardo Tisci, who stepped down in February after a 12-year tenure. She will start on May 2 as the brand’s sixth designer to take the reins.
March 15, 2017: Jil Sander creative director Rodolfo Paglialunga is exiting his post after three years. The women’s fall ’17 collection is the last one designed for the brand by Paglialunga. The company said it was a mutual decision to end the partnership.
March 14, 2017: Vancouver, Canada-based Native Shoes has appointed former Lululemon Athletica Inc. executive Kyle Housman as its new president. He will report to Native co-owner and CEO Scott Hawthorn. Housman is taking over from Darren Hawrish, who served as the brand’s president for the past four years. Hawrish will remain in an advisory position on the board of directors.
March 13, 2017: General Motors veteran Clay Dean has joined Under Armour as chief innovation officer. Dean — who spent more than 20 years at GM, most recently as head of its Global Advanced Design organization — will be responsible for driving Under Armour’s vision and strategy for innovation as well as cross-functional collaboration with its internal design, marketing, product and category management teams, the company said. He will be based out of UA’s global headquarters in Baltimore and will report to Kevin Haley, president of category management and innovation.
March 13, 2017: Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. appointed James Gulmi, former CFO of Genesco Inc., as interim CEO. Gulmi, who served as CFO of Genesco for 29 years before his retirement last year, will join the PacSun board of directors on a permanent basis. He succeeds Gary Schoenfeld, who had been CEO since 2009.
March 9, 2017: BCBG Max Azria Group LLC has appointed Bernd Kroeber to the role of EVP and creative director. Lubov Azria is no longer with the company. Kroeber will now lead the creative strategy of BCBG Max Azria, Herve Leger and BCBGeneration. He will report directly to Marty Staff, interim acting CEO. Kroeber’s first collection will debut for the spring ’18 season. He has been employed by BCBG Max Azria since 2007, most recently serving as VP of design for BCBGeneration. The company also appointed Annette Schatz to the role of president of global wholesale and distributors. Schatz previously served as EVP of BCBGeneration and wholesale. She will also report directly to Staff.
March 7, 2017: Adidas AG appointed company veteran Harm Ohlmeyer as successor for longtime CFO Robin Stalker. In order to ensure a smooth transition, Stalker — who had been with Adidas for 16 years — will step down on May 11. Ohlmeyer has been appointed to the executive board effective immediately and will become CFO on May 12. Ohlmeyer had led the company’s global commerce business since 2011, most recently as SVP of digital brand commerce. From 2014-16, he held additional responsibility as SVP of sales strategy and excellence
March 6, 2017: Performance cycling and triathlon label Pearl Izumi has hired Chris Sword as its president. Sword will replace Mike O’Connor, who served as president before retiring in December. For the past nine years, Sword was president at Oberalp, owner of the Dynafit, Salewa, Wild Country and Pomoca brands.
March 3, 2017: Pentland Brands has appointed Robert Dundon as the new SVP of sales for Pentland North America. Dundon, who will join the company on March 9, has spent time at a number of fashion and accessories brands including Links of London, Folli Follie, Thomas Pink and Paul Smith.
March 3, 2017: Aldo Group Inc. announced that David Bensadoun – the eldest son of the company’s founder, Aldo Bensadoun – will become the firm’s CEO, effective April 3. He will replace Patrik Fisk, who became the CEO of Aldo in 2014. David Bensadoun joined the company in 1995 as a project manager and rose through the ranks to his most recent role as president of Aldo Group North America (AGNA). Jurgen Schreiber has also been named chairman of Aldo and will lead the company’s advisory board. Schreiber has been a member of the advisory board for the past four years. Norman Jaskolka — who currently leads Aldo Group International’s strategic partnerships and the company’s acquisition efforts — has been appointed deputy chairman.
March 1, 2017: Crocs Inc. CEO Gregg Ribatt will step down from his post on June 1, and Andrew Rees, who served as president of Crocs since 2014, will be become both president and CEO. Ribatt will continue to serve on the Niwot, Colo.-based brand’s board. Also, Michelle Poole, SVP of global product and merchandising, is assuming responsibility for marketing. Ann Chan, SVP and GM of Europe, is transitioning to SVP and GM of Americas; and David Thompson, SVP of AMEA, is also assuming responsibility for Europe.
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