Shuffle Board: Foot Locker Inc. Taps Nike Exec, Guess Names CFO, Anthro Hires Home Boss
Retail
Foot Locker/WSS
Foot Locker Inc. named former Nike executive Blanca Gonzalez as the senior vice president and general manager of WSS, the Latino-focused apparel and footwear brand it acquired in 2021 for $750 million. Reporting to Frank Bracken, Foot Locker Inc.’s executive vice president (EVP) and chief commercial officer, Gonzalez has amassed nearly two decades of relevant experience, including her most recent role as Nike’s vice president of North America merchandising, in addition to previous sales, marketing and merchandising roles with Kyrie Irving’s former sponsor.
“I have watched WSS grow its footprint in Latino communities by investing in authentic and culturally relevant touch points with its customers,” said Gonzalez, who is expected to help grow the brand to $1 billion sneaker destination. “WSS has proven to demonstrate a high level of cultural awareness that honors and respects the richness of the Latino experience. Together we’ll build on this relationship, continuing WSS’s success and growth while being keenly focused on how we best serve the communities where we operate.”
More from Sourcing Journal
Anthropologie
Anthropologie CEO Tricia Smith announced the promotion of Anu Narayanan to president of women’s: apparel, accessories, weddings and beauty; Holly Thrasher as chief merchandising officer of women’s: apparel and weddings, and Aaron Mutscheller as president of Anthropologie Home and Terrain.
Dollar Tree
Mike Kindy joined Dollar Tree as chief supply chain officer, bringing more than 34 years of management experience in retail logistics and operating distribution centers to the role.
Before joining Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, he served in multiple leadership roles for another large value retailer, most recently as the EVP accountable for supply chain strategy, including transportation, distribution, demand chain, allocations, procurement and master data management.
Brands
Guess
Guess appointed Markus Neubrand, the current group chief financial officer (CFO) of luxury fashion brand MCM Worldwide, as its CFO, effective Aug. 1. Neubrand brings two decades of finance and operations experience in the fashion industry to the lifestyle brand, having spent 17 years at Hugo Boss in various roles before joining MCM in January 2021.
Neubrand will succeed interim CFO Dennis Secor, who will remain with the company as an EVP through March 31, 2024. In addition, Fabrice Benarouche has been promoted to senior vice president finance, investor relations and chief accounting officer, effective immediately.
Delta Apparel
Delta Apparel Inc., a provider of core activewear, lifestyle apparel and direct-to-garment digital print and fulfillment strategies, announced the election of Dr. Bill C. Hardgrave to its board of directors.
Hardgrave brings to Delta Apparel an established record of strategic leadership and innovation across various industries and organizations ranging from entrepreneurial startups to some of the country’s biggest universities. He currently serves as the 13th president of the University of Memphis. He continues his work with the RFID Lab he founded, as well as Fortune 100 companies and others, on strategies to leverage the commercial use of RFID and related technologies.
Logistics
Omni Logistics
Global logistics solution provider Omni Logistics has named Paul Gaffney the company’s first chief digital officer. He will support the company in defining and executing its digital strategy, including digital transformation initiatives, connection of operating systems and optimization of digital customer platforms. Before joining Omni, Gaffney was Kohl’s chief technology and supply chain officer.
BlueGrace Logistics
BlueGrace Logistics has made several leadership changes. Ariana Villanueva has been promoted to vice president of people strategy and operations, overseeing the employee relations function and talent development. Carly Bly was named to the newly created role of senior director of carrier relations, responsible for how BlueGrace manages, cultivates and optimizes LTL carrier relationships and networks. Bonnie Beckman has been promoted to vice president of commercial operations and audit, leading audit and freight claims while pursuing new ways to leverage additional business opportunities. Carol Haeck has been named to the new role of vice president of credit and billing, a critical service function for shippers and carriers.
Labor
The Truck Leasing Task Force
The Truck Leasing Task Force (TLTF) announced the appointment of Kaitlyn Long as assistant director of strategic initiatives for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Long, who will serve on the TLTF’s nine-member committee, also directs the union’s economics team of research analysts and economists.
The TLTF was established by the bipartisan infrastructure law enacted in 2021 to advise and make recommendations to the secretary of transportation and the secretary of labor through the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA).
Real Estate
Divaris Real Estate
Divaris Real Estate has announced a strategic leadership restructuring, appointing David Sutliff as CFO, responsible for enhancing the company’s financial strategy and operational efficiencies. With more than 18 years of experience at KPMG, he has been an advisor to Divaris for the past 12 years.
The company promoted Tony Divaris, previously the international controller/CFO, to chief operating officer, responsible for enhancing company operations while implementing strategic changes to improve and complement the firm’s growth trajectory.
Divaris Real Estate is a division of The Divaris Group, an international fully integrated real estate services, brokerage, and property management company that currently manages and/or leases over 37.3 million square feet of prime office, retail, and industrial space throughout the U.S.
