Moda Operandi is getting a new head honcho for fine jewelry: Abby Huhtanen has joined the e-tailer as its director of fine jewelry.
Huhtanen comes to Moda after a long stint as the founder of consulting firm AMH Global, which she set up in 2018 after leaving Ippolita as chief commercial officer. Huhtanen also served as the president of Kimberly McDonald and worked at Bergdorf Goodman for a decade as its fine jewelry and watch buyer.
According to a release, she will be “Strategically positioning the [fine jewelry] category for aggressive growth with a plan to define [Moda] as the premiere luxury online destination for fine jewelry.”
Huhtanen will be responsible for all buying and merchandising efforts related to fine jewelry and will also collaborate on events and private sales engagements relating to the category. She will report directly to Moda’s chief merchandising officer, April Hennig.
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The merchant steps into a role that has been somewhat in flux since the 2019 departure of Jodi Kaplan, who had joined Moda from Bergdorf where she had worked as its vice president of jewelry and watches. Kaplan eventually grew her purview at Moda to include all accessories as well as home goods.
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The role was then filled by veteran jewelry editor Will Kahn, who stayed at the website for about a year.
The “structure” of the department has since changed, according to a spokesperson — and has since been overseen by Myriam Attou — vice president of exquisite sales, fine jewelry, home merchandising and special orders. According to a release, Attou is leaving her position at the site and will be, “continuing to support on key business partnerships and priorities until her departure in June.” Attou first joined Moda in November 2019 from Tesla where she was the director for the U.K., Northern Europe and Middle East.