Brands
Dr. Martens
Dr. Martens has appointed former Nike exec Paul Zadoff as its new president of the Americas as the British boot brand continues building the region’s business, SJ’s sister publication, WWD, reported. In this role, Zadoff will lead the regional team in driving the performance, growth and profitability of the company’s Americas business. He will join Dr. Martens’ global leadership team and report to chief executive officer, Ije Nwokorie.
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Christian Dior
French multinational luxury goods company Dior has confirmed that Maria Grazia Chiuri has stepped down as womenswear artistic director at the LVMH-owned label after nine year run. The Italian designer was the first woman (ever) to lead Dior’s women’s collections and carried the company through various billion-dollar global growth efforts with a feminist twist.
Nike
Alice Hartley has joined Nike as director of waste and circularity, according to a LinkedIn Post. Hartley formerly served as Under Armour’s director of circularity for around 18 months, following an 11-year stint at Gap Inc., spending the last three as director of product sustainability and circularity.
D-R-G-N
Nascent streetwear brand D-R-G-N has named Ben Taverniti as creative director. Taverniti served as creative director at Hudson Jeans, working alongside Peter Kim—founder and former CEO of Hudson, and now CEO and co-founder of D-R-G-N. The emerging luxury menswear label was created in partnership with Bruce Lee Enterprises, honoring Lee’s legacy through “elevated design and a commitment to his core philosophies.”
Textiles
Infinited Fiber Company
Infinited Fiber Company’s co-founder and CEO Petri Alava has stepped down nearly a decade after founding the Finnish materials firm. Chief operating officer Sahil Kaushik will serve as acting CEO starting June 1 with Infinited Fiber’s next phase—industrial scale-up—on the horizon. Alava will continue supporting the company as senior advisor through the end of November. The board of directors has initiated the search for a permanent successor.
Lenzing Group
Austrian fiber group Lenzing has appointed Georg Kasperkovitz as chief operations officer and a member of the managing board. In this role, Kasperkovitz will manage the company-wide fiber production sites and drive forward the group’s ongoing performance program. At the same time, he will take over the responsibility for the site management in Lenzing (Upper Austria) as well. Kasperkovitz brings 15-plus years of experience in various management functions across relevant regions and markets.
Trade
FDRA
The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) has appointed several industry executives to its board of directors. Gautham Rao, vice president and general manager, Americas, Timberland; Todd Krinsky, president and CEO, Reebok; Sara Hoverstock, senior vice president, general counsel, Crocs; and Jonathan Frankel, president, Aldo Group, have joined the FDRA’s board of directors.
