June 30, 2020: Karen Parkin, executive board member of Adidas AG and head of Global Human Resources, is stepping down from her post after 23 years at the company, effective today. Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted will assume responsibility for the department on an interim basis until a successor is appointed. Parkin’s resignation follows weeks of unrest at the company, stemming from years-long challenges surrounding its diversity and inclusion efforts. Those issues reached a fever pitch amid national tensions over racial equality in the United States following the death of George Floyd. Early this month, a 13-member coalition representing more than 200 Adidas employees called for Parkin’s resignation.
June 29, 2020: Kevin Bailey, VF Corp. EVP and group president, APAC, will continue to lead the company’s Asia Pacific Region but will move from Hong Kong to VF’s Denver headquarters. Bailey will also assume leadership of VF’s Emerging Brands platform, which includes Altra, Eagle Creek, JanSport and Smartwool. He will continue to report to CEO Steve Rendle and will keep his post on VF’s executive leadership team. In addition, VF has created the new position of president, Greater China, with plans to announce the leader appointed to the post later this summer.
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June 29, 2020: Ashley Merrill has been appointed as chairwoman of the Outdoor Voices board of directors. Merrill is founder and CEO of luxury sleepwear brand Lunya. As chairwoman, Merrill will work closely with the brand’s executive team at the board level. The board is conducting a formal search currently to find a permanent CEO following the departure of founder Tyler Haney from the post earlier this year.
June 28, 2020: Former Tapestry Inc. CEO Victor Luis has been appointed to the Deckers Brands board of directors. “I am excited to join the Deckers Board of Directors. I have long admired its portfolio of iconic brands that blend fashion and performance innovation to drive consumer connections,” said Luis, who exited the top job at Tapestry last September. “I look forward to supporting the management team in the execution of global strategies that build upon the success they have driven over the past few years.” Deckers also announced that James Quinn has resigned from the board after more than eight years.
June 26, 2020: Macy’s announced plans to cut roughly 3,900 corporate and management positions, or about 3% of its total workforce. Story founder Rachel Shechtman is among those employees. The department store chain acquired the concept shop in May 2018, naming Shechtman as Macy’s brand experience officer. She was responsible for developing in-store customer experiences.
June 25, 2020: Sperry has named Sean McDowell to the post of VP of design and product development. He will report to Joelle Grunberg, a member of parent company Wolverine World Wide Inc.’s executive leadership team and global brand president of Sperry. McDowell has more than two decades of design experience. Most recently, he founded Fountain Design and Innovation, a design agency serving a variety of consumer brands. Prior to that, he held design and product roles at New Balance, Nike and Converse.
June 24, 2020: Carlo Capasa will remain in his role as president of the Italian Chamber of Fashion through 2022, following confirmation from the board’s association this week. Capasa was first appointed to the post in 2015, succeeding Mario Boselli, who is now its honorary president.
June 23, 2020: Earth Inc. has added a duo of executives to its team. Jocelyn Thornton has taken on the newly created role of EVP of product and merchandising, and Fred Allard has been named creative director of product. Thornton comes to Earth Inc. with experience in product development for brands including Sperry and Clarks, as well as consulting experience at The Doneger Group where she served as SVP. With over 35 years of experience in the industry, Allard’s design background includes work at Nine West and The Jones Group, and will lead the design team of the updated eco-friendly Earth line set to debut in fall ’21.
June 22, 2020: Alasdhair Willis is leaving Hunter after seven years as creative director. He will however, remain with the brand in the capacity of a senior advisor to parent company, Atypical Partner. Earlier this month, the company did a recapitalization which saw existing shareholder, Pall Mall Legacy, become the majority owner. Other investors include Searchlight Capital and Pentland. They also announced a management reshuffle and set a strategic review. Atypical Partner is the umbrella company that controls Pall Mall Legacy. Atypical said that Willis will advise and collaborate on current and future portfolio companies.
June 22, 2020: Neiman Marcus Group announced June 19 the exit of Marc Beilinson from the Board of Managers, effective immediately. Beilinson made the decision to resign after undergoing emergency heart surgery earlier this month, as his doctors have advised him to temporarily reduce his workload. Scott Vogel was made a disinterested manager on April 28 and will continue to fulfill the duties assigned to Beilinson.
June 17, 2020: Nike veteran Cristiano Fagnani is joining New Guards Group as chief marketing officer. Fagnani has a 20 year history in in marketing and communication at Nike for Italy and the EMEA region, as well as in the U.S. supervising collaborations, influencer marketing and brand experience through the Energy Marketing Team. Relocating to Italy, he and will lead the marketing team across all the group’s brands which include: Off-White (NGG is the label’s licensee), Palm Angels, Ambush, Marcelo Burlon County of Milan, Heron Preston and Opening Ceremony. Digital platform Farfetch bought New Guards Group last August, for $675 million.
June 16, 2020: Cole Haan Inc. today announced the appointment of Andrew Rudolph as senior vice president, North American wholesale sales. Since 1995, Rudolph had worked at Adidas Group, where he most recently served as vice president of U.S. wholesale sales. Rudolph will join the Cole Haan corporate leadership team effective immediately.
June 16, 2020: Kering has announced that Emma Watson is joining its Board of Directors, alongside Jean Liu and Tidjane Thiam. Their appointments have been approved by Kering’s shareholders during the group’s annual general meeting, as proposed by the board of directors in March 2020. Watson has been appointed chair of the sustainability committee of the board of directors, while Thiam has been appointed chair of the audit committee. “Their respective knowledge and competence, the multiplicity of their backgrounds and perspectives will be invaluable additions to the reflections of Kering’s Board of Directors,” said François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering. “The collective intelligence that comes from the diversity of point of views and the richness brought by different experiences are crucial to the future of our organization, and I am proud to add such impressive talents to the team,” he added.
June 16, 2020: LVMH executive Philippe Fortunato is to join Richemont as head of fashion and accessories houses. These include Chloé, Dunhill, Alaïa and golf and luxury performance brand Peter Millar. Richemont is also involved in a joint venture with former Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz called as AZfashion. Fortunato was most recently chief executive officer of Givenchy where he spent six years. He comes with an extensive pedigree. Prior to Givenchy, he was president and CEO of the North Asia region of Louis Vuitton, and before that managing director of Fendi. He has and worked for Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton in China.
June 15, 2020: Matthew M. Williams is Givenchy’s new creative director. The designer behind the 1017 Alyx label made the announcement in typically offbeat style via a voice note on the house’s Instagram account. “I want to say how honored I am to be taking on the role of creative director of G, it’s been my lifelong dream to be in this position and it’s really surreal that’s its finally here i’ve worked every day for 15 years towards this single goal,” he said. “At the same time it’s bitter sweet because we’re living in unprecedented times in the world and I just hope in some way I can bring hope with my community and colleagues create positive change for our industry and the world and I’d like to use this platform to do so.” He will commence his role on June 16 and is expected to present his first designs for Givenchy in October.
June 15, 2020: Galeries Lafayette has named Guillaume Gellusseau as its chief marketing and communications officer. According to FN’s sister publication WWD, the executive will spearhead marketing efforts for the group’s namesake department store chain and the BHV Marais. Gellusseau previously served as a general manager at Shiseido, in marketing roles at the Bon Marché and Baccarat, as well as various positions at Lancôme.
June 12, 2020: Reformation founder and CEO Yael Aflalo is stepping down, according to Business of Fashion. The executive, whose departure is effective immediately, has been replaced by president Hali Borenstein. Her exit comes a week after a former general manager at Reformation had put forth allegations of racism at the company. Days later, Aflalo issued an apology through the retailer’s Instagram account, writing, “I’ve failed… Unfortunately, the way we have practiced diversity in the past has been through a ‘white gaze’ that falls to close to ignorance.” FN has reached out to Reformation for comment.
June 12, 2020: Richemont‘s human resources director has exited the company’s senior executive committee. In a statement, the luxury goods group announced that Sophie Guieysse is stepping down immediately and will not stand for reelection to the board of directors at its annual general meeting set for Sept. 9. No reason was given for the departure.
June 11, 2020: J.Jill has appointed Shelley Milano to its board of directors, effective immediately. The new addition currently serves as EVP and chief HR officer for Victoria’s Secret parent L Brands. She previously worked in executive leadership positions at Eddie Bauer, Starbucks and Honda. “Shelley is an established industry leader with impeccable credentials,” said J.Jill chairman Michael Rahamim, “and she perfectly complements the skills and expertise of our current board.”
June 10, 2020: As reported by FN’s sister publication WWD, Hunter CEO Vincent Wauters will leave his post July 31 to pursue new opportunities. Wauters joined Hunter in 2016 after serving as president of Canadian outdoor company Arc’teryx. While a search for a new CEO is underway, former Jimmy Choo SVP of merchandising and licensing Paolo Porta will assume Wauters’ responsibilities.
June 10, 2020: Cat Footwear has appointed Kelly Ballou as its VP of marketing. She has worked for Wolverine World Wide Inc. and its brands for more than 17 years in several roles, most recently as the senior director of brand marketing at Merrell. In her new role, Ballou will report to newly-named Cat Footwear global brand president Chip Coe, who assumed the role last month. Before Wolverine, Ballou was an account executive for a strategic brand communications agency and a marketing manager for the office furniture company Steelcase.
June 9, 2020: Merrell has appointed Janice Tennant as its chief marketing officer. Tennant, who most recently held the same role at Cat Footwear, has been tasked with leading Merrell’s global marketing efforts which includes executing strategies to advance the its pro-outdoor purpose. She will report directly to Merrell global brand president Chris Hufnagel and also join its senior leadership team. Prior to Merrell, Tennant held director of marketing roles at Kimberly-Clark and PepsiCo.
June 9, 2020: Nina Fuhrman has been appointed chief merchant for JustFab and ShoeDazzle, TechStyle Fashion Group announced. Fuhrman will oversee design and product strategy for both brands. A veteran of fashion brands such as Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton and J.Crew, Fuhrman most recently served as FabFitFun Style vice president and general manager.
June 9, 2020: HanesBrands has appointed Stephen Bratspies as CEO and board member, effective Aug. 3, 2020. Bratspies, who most recently served as chief merchandising officer for Walmart, will succeed Gerald Evans Jr. in the chief spot. Evans, who had previously announced his retirement, will oversee the transition until August and will remain as a HanesBrands adviser through 2021.
June 5, 2020: Mattheiu Blazy has joined Bottega Veneta in a senior design role, learned FN’s sister publication WWD. The new hire — who reportedly started at the post several weeks ago and reports to creative director Daniel Lee — formerly served as the design director of Calvin Klein 205W39NYC under Raf Simons. Prior to two and a half years at the American label, Blazy worked at Celine under then-creative director Phoebe Philo and at Maison Margiela.
June 4, 2020: After pausing operations in March due to the pandemic, Wigwam Mills Inc., based in Sheboygan, Wisc., has reopened its factory. Additionally, leadership of the 115-year-old, family-owned sock company has shifted to fourth-generation siblings Chris Chesebro and Margaret Newhard, who have worked at Wigwam for over a decade. They will take joint control as general managers of operations and administration, respectively.
June 1, 2020: Daniel Grieder has stepped down as CEO of Tommy Hilfiger Global and PVH Europe. He is succeeded by Martijn Hagman, chief operating officer of Tommy Hilfiger Global and PHV Europe and chief financial officer of Tommy Hilfiger Global. Under Grieder’s tenure the brand has embraced digitization, 3-D product design and opened an Amsterdam campus and product innovation center. Grieder, who joined the business in 2004 is “looking for something more entrepreneurial where i can invest,” he said.
June 1, 2020: Reliable of Milwaukee has named two VPs to its Muk Luks team. Ilene Feldman has been named VP of footwear, a new position, overseeing global sales and merchandising activities for all channels and platforms. Prior to this, she served as senior account executive with Diba Shoes. The brand has also appointed Kristina Tobolic VP of slippers, socks, and accessories, responsible for global sales and merchandising activities across all channels and platforms for its heritage categories. The industry veteran most recently served as VP/DMM, women’s apparel at Kohl’s.
