Brands
Wolverine Worldwide
Wolverine Worldwide announced the appointment of Melissa Mullen as global brand president of Sweaty Betty, a women’s activewear brand acquired in August 2021. She will report to Isabel Soriano, president of Wolverine Worldwide’s London-based international group. She succeeds Julia Straus, who previously announced she is returning to the United States with her family.
Mullen brings experience from various senior executive roles with global fashion, athletic and footwear brands. She most recently served, since 2019, as vice president and general manager of the UK and Ireland for Jo Malone London, a British lifestyle brand owned by the Estée Lauder Companies.
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Stitch Fix
Online personal styling service Stitch Fix announced that Matt Baer, former chief customer and digital officer at Macy’s, has been appointed chief executive officer and a board of directors member, effective June 26. Founder, interim CEO and executive chairperson of the board Katrina Lake will work closely with Baer as he transitions into his role and will continue in her role as executive chairperson.
Puma
As a part of implementing its strategic priorities, Puma is reorganizing its global marketing organization to now be based in the company’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, relocating the brand management and marketing operations departments from Boston to Herzogenaurach, effective July 1. In the context of this reorganization, Puma’s global chief brand officer, Adam Petrick, has decided not to transition to Germany but instead leave Puma after two decades with the brand. However, he will stay with the company through the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition.
Puma’s regional general manager of Europe, Richard Teyssier, will lead the global marketing organization as global brand and marketing director, effective July 1. In this role, he will report directly to Puma CEO Arne Freundt.
Wolf & Shepherd
California-based lifestyle footwear brand Wolf & Shepherd announced that tennis champion Maria Sharapova has joined the team as a strategic advisor and board member. As strategic advisor, Sharapova will join the likes of Steve Nash and Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski to bring her entrepreneurial eye to various facets of the company, such as design, business and growth strategy.
Johnston & Murphy
Footwear, apparel and accessories brand Johnston & Murphy has expanded its leadership team by appointing two new executives. Connie Cartmill has been named vice president of stores, while Steve Prince joins the company as vice president of business operations.
Cartmill will lead the retail operations and customer experience teams, handling Johnston & Murphy’s 159 retail stores and customer service operations. Prince will lead efforts across the company’s distribution channels to scale infrastructure, enhance business processes, improve customer fulfillment and drive critical distribution and technology initiatives.
Bonobos
WHP Global, a global brand management firm and owner of the fashion brand Bonobos, announced that Andy Dunn, co-founder of Bonobos, will join WHP Global in an advisory role for the newly acquired Bonobos brand. Dunn and WHP Global will be working in partnership with EXPR CEO Tim Baxter, Bonobos president John Hutchison and the entire Bonobos team to help drive the brand’s future.
Retail
Saks Off 5th
Saks Off 5th has made several leadership changes. Bed Bath & Beyond executive Mara Sirhal, is joining Saks Off 5th in the newly created role of chief merchant and brand officer, overseeing buying, planning and creative functions. The retailer also named Sara Griffin as chief marketing and analytics officer. Griffin will manage customer analytics, insights and engagement, personalization and loyalty, growth marketing, corporate strategy and business development in this role.
Julie Mares, senior vice president of e-commerce, will assume expanded responsibility for complete oversight of the entire e-commerce customer experience, including digital operations, site monetization and drop shipping. With the reorganization, chief merchant Molly Taylor and chief operating officer Shivi Shankaran are leaving the company.
Chico’s
Chico’s announced that David M. Oliver, senior vice president – finance, controller and chief accounting officer, has been appointed as executive vice president – chief financial officer and chief accounting officer, effective June 24. The current EVP – CFO, Patrick J. Guido, has resigned to accept a position at another company to be closer to his family. His last day with Chico’s is June 23.
Oliver joined Chico’s in 2012 and has held multiple leadership roles. He initially joined as vice president – finance and controller, followed by the position of group vice president – finance, controller, chief accounting officer and treasurer. Oliver also served as interim CFO and senior vice president–controller from February 2020 to September 2021.
Lids
Sports retailer Lids announced that Ariel Sandler has been named the company’s head of brand and collaborations. Sandler will lead the company’s new branding department across partnerships, activations and brand development in his new role. He brings experience leading brand and marketing efforts for well-known institutions like the NBA and StockX.
Logistics
CommSell
St. Louis-based supply chain management company CommSell has announced changes to its leadership team to support its growth. Robert Lennox has been named president and chief operating officer. In this newly created role, Lennox will work closely with chairman and CEO Alex Alyatim on the company’s overall strategy, operational transformation and execution.
Jacob McMillan has been named chief product officer. In this role, he will work closely with Plug (a CommSell brand) leadership as executive vice president of operations of the e-commerce brand, planning, directing, coordinating and overseeing operations activities.
Port of Seattle
The Port of Seattle, a government agency overseeing the seaport of Seattle, has hired Karen Goon as its new deputy executive director, replacing the current, retiring deputy, Dave Soike. Goon will report directly to executive director Steve Metruck. She will start in mid-July.
Goon has decades of administrative and leadership experience throughout the Puget Sound region. Before joining the Port of Seattle, Goon served as Kitsap County Administrator since 2014, reporting directly to the county board of commissioners. She also served in several administrative roles in Pierce County government from 1996 to 2014, including portfolios in transportation as well as public works and utilities.
Textiles
Origin Materials
Carbon-negative materials company Origin Materials announced the appointment of James Stephanou to the Origin board of directors, effective June 12. He will serve as a member of the board’s audit and compensation committees.
Stephanou brings over 30 years of experience in manufacturing operations and engineering, including his current role as CEO of Integrated Project Services (IPS), an engineering and construction services provider to the life sciences sector.
Trade
Fair Labor Association
The Fair Labor Association (FLA) announced that its president and CEO, Sharon Waxman, has notified the board of directors of her intention to resign following more than seven years of leading the organization.
The board has selected a search committee—Karen Tramontono of Global Fairness Initiative, Liz Kennedy of UCLA, Michael Levine of Under Armour and Yann Wyss of Nestle—to be led by board chairman Michael Posner. The board has also retained independent executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates to conduct a global search for FLA’s next president and CEO.
Technology
Plus One Robotics
Plus One Robotics, a provider of AI vision perception software and solutions for robotic parcel handling, has named Martin Aalund VP of product engineering. Aalund will be responsible for leading the company’s team of hardware and software engineers and developers, as well as managing the engineering budget. He will focus on refining existing products and developing new ones as well as services to meet emerging customer requirements.
Aalund comes to Plus One with over 30 years of robotic experience, including employment at Amazon, where he was a senior engineering manager and part of the team that deployed the first industrial robots at the company.
Shipt
Retail tech company Shipt announced that Katie Stratton was appointed the company’s first chief growth officer. Stratton, who will report to Shipt CE Kamau Witherspoon, will guide the company in its next strategic, growth-focused phase. Stratton will oversee the new Shipt growth team, which includes business development, business capabilities, consumer packaged goods (CPG), partner success, innovation, site merchandising and catalog operations.
