Brands
Bottega Veneta
Luxury conglomerate Kering announced that Bartolomeo Rongone, chief executive officer of Bottega Veneta, will be leaving the group, effective March 31, to pursue new professional opportunities. Rongone was named CEO of Bottega Veneta in June 2019, following a stint as CEO of Yves Saint Laurent. The selection process for Bottega Veneta’s next CEO is underway, per Kering, with the appointment to be announced in the near future.
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Nike
Nike has overhauled three regional senior leadership teams (SLTs) as part of its “Win Now” and athlete-first strategy. CEO Elliott Hill said the changes—affecting the “geos” of Greater China, EMEA and APLA—are meant to “remove layers” and improve execution, according to an internal memo.
After joining Nike in 1997, Carl Grebert is retiring, to be succeeded by César Garcia, who will be named Nike’s next vice president and general manager of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, on Feb. 2.
Nike’s Greater China lead Angela Dong is stepping down, effective March 31. Dong joined in 2005 and held a range of increasingly senior roles across the region for all 20-plus years; that said, 25-year veteran Cathy Sparks will step into the role of VP/GM, Greater China. Succeeding Sparks in the interim is Cristin “Crissy” Campbell, currently vice president of Nike Brands for APLA and “leading its sport offense for the geo,” who will serve as interim VP/GM of APLA, also joining the senior leadership team.
Mud Jeans
Dutch denim brand Mud Jeans has named co-owner Dion Vijgeboom as chief executive officer. He succeeds Jolanda Brink, who took over the B Corp in April 2023—succeeding founder Bert van Son during his transition to spokesperson.
Vijgeboom has been part of Mud Jeans since 2015, serving as chief operating officer in recent years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“I know the organization, the people and our circular mission inside out,” Vijgeboom shared on the social media platform. “With this new role, my focus is on continuity and growth: strengthening our position in the markets where we operate, across all channels from wholesale to direct-to-consumer.”
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
International non-profit organization developing standards for sustainability reporting, The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), has appointed Susanne Stormer as the chair of the governance body responsible for setting the GRI Standards, the global sustainability standards board (GSSB). She most recently served as a partner at PwC Denmark, providing sustainability advisory and assurance services—prior to which, she spent 13 years with Novo Nordisk as vice president of corporate sustainability. Stormer has served on the EFRAG Project Task Force that developed the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), as a SASB Standards board member and as a founding member of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC).
Education
Fashion Institute of Technology
The board of higher education State University of New York (SUNY) unanimously named Jason Schupbach as president of the Fashion Institute of Technology. FIT’s nationwide search took eight months—following Joyce Brown’s retirement announcement last May.
Ultimately hailing from Philadelphia’s Drexel University, the former Westphal College dean is known for developing a novel apprenticeship model with the locally leading conglomerate, URBN. Before that, he served as director of the Design School at Arizona State University, leading ASU’s ReDesign program. Schupbach received a master’s degree in city planning and a graduate certificate in urban design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2003, and earlier earned a Bachelor of Science in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill around 1997.
Appointed in 1998, Brown was both the first female and the first African American to lead FIT.
Actum
Former Tom Ford chief marketing officer Charlotte Blechman has joined the board of Actum, a bicoastal-and-beyond strategic firm, to build out a leg for a luxury, fashion and lifestyle consultancy.
Spending nearly three decades within various and influential luxury labels, Blechman too brings advisory and governance insights. While most recently (and directly) under Tom Ford as CMO to oversee its tentpole global stratagem, she also held senior roles at the likes of Barneys New York (2011-2017) and Gucci Group (1995-1998, 2004-2010). Her stint at Yves Saint Laurent (2001-2004) as vice president of public relations (also reporting to Ford) saw Blechman lead both landmark campaigns and philanthropic initiatives.
Logistics
Bleckmann
Bleckmann CEO Kurt Pierloot has stepped down after six and a half years at the helm of the European logistics and supply chain management firm. The mutually-agreed-to transition plan sees Pierloot remaining onboard for a smooth handover, continuing to “support the company in the weeks ahead in a number of strategic projects.” In the interim is Gökalp Çak: the chairman of the board and co-founder of Bleckmann’s major shareholder, the Istanbul-based logistics service provider Netlog. With Cak receiving “active support” from both the board and executive committee, Bleckman said the interim arrangement “ensures seamless operations [and] with no impact on its strategic plan.”
