Industry Moves: JCPenney Fills Key Role With 25-Year Retail Veteran

FN Staff

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July 31, 2019: JCPenney has appointed James DePaul as its EVP of stores, effective Aug. 5. The executive, who will report directly to CEO Jill Soltau, is a 25-year industry veteran, with previous roles at Shopko Stores and Target. DePaul succeeds Michael Robbins, who will depart his post on Aug. 3, and joins a round of new hires including chief merchant Michelle Wlazlo, CFO Bill Wafford and EVP and chief customer officer Shawn Gensch. The company is also searching for a new e-commerce chief.

July 30, 2019: Renée Tirado is joining Gucci as its first global head of diversity, equity and inclusion, reporting directly to president and CEO Marco Bizzarri, WWD reports. Tirado was previously chief diversity and inclusion officer at Major League Baseball and has held similar posts at AIG and the United States Tennis Association. In her new role — part of Gucci’s recent efforts to boost the diversity in its internal ranks as well as avoid marketing missteps — Tirado will “design, develop and implement a global strategy to create a more inclusive and equitable workplace” at the brand, per WWD. She will be based in New York. In a similar move, Chanel this month named Fiona Pargeter its first head of diversity and inclusion.

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July 29, 2019: Dressbarn parent Ascena Retail Group announced the promotion of its SVP of finance and chief accounting officer to the role of CFO. Effective Aug. 4, Dan Lamadrid will replace Robb Giammatteo, who will depart the company at the end of August. Lamadrid, who will also take on the EVP post, joined Ascena in 2017 and previously served as VP and controller at Ralph Lauren. He will report directly to CEO Gary Muto, who replaced David Jaffe in May. (Jaffe’s mother founded the company as “Dress Barn” in 1962.) COO Brian Lynch also left the company in May.

July 26, 2019: Alexandre Birman has named Norah Atterbury EVP, effective immediately. The executive, who was most recently president at Tabitha Simmons, will be overseeing all wholesale, retail and e-commerce platforms and business for the international market. Prior to her time at Tabitha Simmons, Atterbury worked at both Jimmy Choo and Gucci, building an extensive foundation in luxury footwear over six years. Atterbury began her career at LVMH within Rossimoda in 2010.

July 25, 2019: Genesco Inc. has announced the appointment of two corporate officers. Danny Ewoldsen, president of the Johnston & Murphy division, and Mario Gallione, president of the Journeys division, have both been named SVP of Genesco Inc. Most recently, Ewoldsen, a 16-year veteran of Johnston & Murphy was president of the Johnston & Murphy Group, responsible for both its retail and wholesale operations, along with the Trask brand. Gallione, a 42-year veteran of Genesco, was named president of Journeys in September 2017, after serving as chief merchandising officer of the Journeys Group since 2010. The company has also promoted the following at its corporate offices. Dave Moore has been appointed VP of wholesale business for Johnston & Murphy, most recently serving as EVP of wholesale and licensing for The Frye Company. Steve Arrington has been named VP, chief information security and privacy officer, having joined the company in 2013 as chief information security officer/senior director. Randy Cucerzan, a 45-year Genesco veteran, has been named VP, vendor management. Marcus Lavendar, most recently senior director of audit and advisory services, has been promoted to VP of audit and advisory services.

July 18, 2019: Specialty retailer Chico’s has named a new president and CEO. Bonnie Brooks has joined the company following the resignation of Karen McKibbin, who served a short stint as president of the brand starting in March. The new chief had also been serving as interim CEO since April after Shelley Broader left the post. Brooks has held several top roles, including vice chairman of Hudson’s Bay Co. and president of HBC’s Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor department store divisions. Along with the announcement, Chico’s shared the appointment of Molly Langenstein as president of the apparel group.

July 18, 2019: Xelero Footwear, Hillsborough, N.J., has named pedorthist Donna Robertson to the new position of director of medical education. In her role, Robertson will be creating an education training program for the company’s pedorthic customers and their referral base including podiatrists, physical therapists and pedorthists, to earn continuing education units under the American Board For Certification (ABC), the national certifying and accrediting body for the orthotic, prosthetic and pedorthic professions. Prior to joining Xelero, Robertson was director of pedorthic education at Foot Solutions.

July 18, 2019: Carlos Crespo has been named Zara‘s new CEO. The news was confirmed by shareholders at parent company Inditex’s annual general meeting on July 16. Previously the chief operating officer at the Spanish fashion brand, Crespo succeeds Pablo Isla, who has been promoted to group executive chairman. The new chief joined Inditex in 2001 as head of accounting policies and was appointed to the COO post last year.

July 15, 2019: Target Corp. has named Hari Govind SVP of infrastructure and operations for the company’s technology team. Govind, who joins Target from Facebook, will oversee cloud and compute capabilities, network connectivity and operations for the technology that powers Target’s stores, digital channels, distribution centers and office locations. He will report to Mike McNamara, Target’s EVP and chief information officer. In his most recent role, Govind was the group manager on Facebook’s infrastructure team, leading strategy and execution to help scale platforms for Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus. Prior to that, he worked at Microsoft Corp. and Honeywell International. He joins Target this month.

July 15, 2019: Fiona Pargeter has joined Chanel as its first head of diversity and inclusion. The fashion house said its D&I efforts have been led for several years in its People & Organization function and by its People Communication & Engagement leader. Pargeter, who joined Chanel this month from Swiss bank UBS where she was head of D&I for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will report to the luxury brand’s People Communication & Engagement leader.

July 12, 2019: Victoria Beckham CEO Paolo Riva is stepping down, effective immediately, after 10 months in the role, citing “personal reasons.” Chairman Ralph Toledano, who joined the team last March, will lead the business as the fashion label searches for a successor. Along with the announcement, the company has made two other executive moves: Product director Marie Leblanc de Reynies has been named to the newly created position of managing director of brand and product, while Pablo Sande was promoted to the title of chief financial and legal officer.

July 10, 2019: J.C. Penney Co. Inc. announced that former Payless ShoeSource CEO Paul Jones has been elected to its board of directors. Jones served as Payless’ chief executive from 2012 until his retirement from the post in 2017. Prior to that, he served as president, chairman and chief executive officer of Shopko Stores from 2009 to 2012, and he held the role of president and chief merchandising officer after joining the company in 2007.

July 10, 2019: Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) Executive Director Amy Roberts will exit the organization in September to join The North Face as senior director, communications & corporate social responsibility. The OIA board will begin the search for a new executive director immediately. Roberts will support the search process and transition of her role.

July 8, 2019: Sustainable footwear brand Veja has appointed Laure Browne as its group CEO. The executive formerly held the role of international brands director at French multinational company Auchan Retail and previously worked in senior positions at retail chain Fnac, telecom firm SFR, luxury perfumery Marionnaud and Yves Saint Laurent Beauty. It marks the first time in Veja’s history that co-founders Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion have named another person to the role.

July 8, 2019: Cougar Shoes has named Jackie Charest VP of marketing. She is tasked with helping the brand expand its U.S. presence and evolve its market positioning. She joins the company after three decades at Holt Renfrew, where she held several roles in marketing and communications.

July 8, 2019: VF Corp. has announced the addition of Denny Bruce to its team. The executive was appointed global brand president of Dickies on July 1, reporting to EVP and group president of workwear brands Curt Holtz. Bruce is tasked with overseeing the apparel business’ wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels, including a focus on digital. Prior to VF, he served as EVP of sales, product and marketing at Traeger Pellet Grills.

July 4, 2019: Saint Laurent CEO Francesca Bellettini has been elected president of the Chambre Syndicale de la Mode Féminine, the 100-plus-member governing body for women’s fashion in France. Bellettini succeeds Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion at Chanel and president of Chanel SAS. Geoffroy de la Bourdonnaye and Pavlovsky were both named vice presidents.

July 2, 2019: Neal Newman, the front man for the Two Ten Footwear Foundation, has left the organization after eight years as president. The charitable foundation, based in Waltham, Mass., said David DiPasquale will serve as the group’s interim president while a search continues for Newman’s replacement. DiPasquale has been an active Two Ten board member for three decades and also previously chaired the organization’s board of directors. No reason was given for Newman’s departure.

July 2, 2019: Marina Larroudé is leaving her role as VP of women’s fashion at Barneys New York to become the head of Schutz USA, FN’s sister publication WWD reports. Larroudé will oversee the Schutz business in the U.S. across all channels, which include retail, wholesale and e-commerce. Arezzo & Co.-owned Schutz is a Brazilian women’s footwear brand.

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