Victoria’s Secret Announced Greg Unis as Brand President, Victoria’s Secret & Pink
Victoria’s Secret & Co. announced key leadership appointments to further advance its strategic pillars of strengthening the core, igniting growth and transforming the foundation. Greg Unis will assume the role of Brand President, Victoria’s Secret & PINK. Unis will continue to report to Martin Waters, CEO of Victoria’s Secret & Co., and lead the design, merchandising, creative, planning, strategic patterning and business development functions.
“Greg has been with Victoria’s Secret since 2016 and I believe his merchant vision, proven record of growth and results, and deep knowledge of our business make him the right person to guide us to further success. In this role, Greg will also partner closely with Chief Customer Officer Chris Rupp to continue to evolve our brands, delight our customers, and grow our business,” said Martin Waters, CEO of Victoria’s Secret & Co.
Additionally, the company will welcome Anne Stephenson as its new Chief Merchandising Officer, reporting to Greg Unis. Stephenson joins the company after most recently serving as the Chief Merchandising and Product Officer of Torrid and will begin her role with Victoria’s Secret & Co. next month.
“We are thrilled to welcome Anne back to the Victoria’s Secret & Co. family,” added Waters. “Anne is a respected and strategic merchant with extensive leadership experience growing top brands, including more than 15 years with Victoria’s Secret.”
Stylitics Announced Juliana Prather as Chief Marketing Officer
Stylitics, the category leader in AI-powered digital merchandising and styling technology, announced that it has appointed Juliana Prather as Chief Marketing Officer, effective immediately. Prather will be responsible for developing and executing the company’s global marketing and brand strategies, reporting directly to Stylitics’ Founder and CEO Rohan Deuskar.
“We are thrilled to welcome Juliana to Stylitics,” said Deuskar. “Her experience and leadership as a global marketing leader in the retail industry make her the perfect addition to our company. She understands the importance of the customer experience for retail success and the power of AI-driven retail tech to help retailers scale and drive personalized style inspiration. We look forward to adding her extensive knowledge at Stylitics during this exciting stage of growth.”
Prather brings over 25 years of branding and marketing experience to Stylitics, where she will lead the company’s messaging and growth initiatives including new retail tech SaaS solutions coming this fall. Fluent in three languages, Prather will help lead the next evolution of Stylitics’ growth through her deep retail domain knowledge and extensive knowledge of international markets. She has held leadership positions and worked with some of retail’s most well-known fashion brands including Givenchy, Nine West, Superga USA and Liz Claiborne Inc. among others; she most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer at global retail analytics provider EDITED. Juliana also adds an increased company focus on DEI and women’s rights by expanding Stylitics’ already diverse leadership team. She is passionate about women in retail and women in tech mentor programs which she is excited to expand at Stylitics; she currently serves on the board of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York.
“Stylitics has positioned itself as a leader in retail tech with solutions for customer-first shopping experiences. I am very excited to be a part of the company in this phase of innovation and product expansion,” said Prather. “I am a believer in the company’s mission and ability to transform the shopping experience by supporting retailers with technologies that drive revenue and support their product and brand strategies. The team and leadership at Stylitics are committed to better experiences for retailers and shoppers and I look forward to being a part of this journey.”
Anne-Laure Couplet Announced as Kooples’ New CEO
Kooples Announced Anne Laure Couplet as CEO replacing Marie Schott. Most recently, Couplet was CEO of Paule Ka for two years. Prior to that, Couplet was CEO at menswear brand Burton of London for four years.
“Join us in welcoming Anne-Laure Couplet as she embarks on this new journey with MF Brands Group! After holding a number of responsibility’s positions in the world of retail and the fashion industry, Anne-Laure Couplet will be responsible for continuing the development in France and internationally of The Kooples. Her leadership qualities, understanding of the products and organisational skills will be essential in raising the desirability and performance of the brand.” – MF Brands Group
Manolo Blahnik Announced Elodie Bougenault Chief Commercial Officer
Luxury footwear and accessories brand Manolo Blahnik has announced the appointment of Elodie Bougenault as Chief Commercial Officer, effective 26 June. Elodie Bougenault, who has worked in Asia Pacific for brands including La Perla and Boucheron, will be responsible for delivering and executing the global commercial direction of the brand across wholesale, retail and digital channels.
“I am delighted and honoured to be joining the wonderful Manolo Blahnik team as the chief commercial officer, at a moment when the company intends to further expand globally with a focus on the Asian and the US territories, establishing a strong voice in new and existing markets and across all channels. The brand has an impressive track record already, a beautiful product and incredibly compelling story – and the journey ahead of us is absolutely exciting! I am humbled by the particularly warm welcome that I am receiving internally, and I want to thank our CEO as well as the whole Manolo Blahnik team for their trust in me.” – Elodie Bougenault
Loewe Announced New Global Brand Ambassador Taeyong
LOEWE is pleased to announce K-pop sensation TAEYONG as a new Global Brand Ambassador. Known for his unique personal style and love of fashion, TAEYONG has been a long-time supporter of LOEWE’s innovative design and craftsmanship, often blending the brand’s key runway pieces with casual wardrobe staples for a contemporary fashion-forward look. Marking his new global role, TAEYONG will be attending LOEWE’s upcoming SS24 men’s runway show in Paris.
Creative director Jonathan Anderson says: ‘I’m delighted to welcome TAEYONG to the LOEWE family. He has a special connection to the brand, having admired and worn LOEWE for a long time, and we love his idiosyncratic style. With TAEYONG’s many talents spanning songwriting, performing and visual creation, I’m really excited to see what this collaboration will bring.’
TAEYONG says: ‘It’s a real honor to be a LOEWE Global Brand Ambassador. I’ve been a huge fan of LOEWE, not only for the designs, but also for the brand’s philosophy and unique way of communicating. I truly appreciate the opportunity to go on this voyage with LOEWE.’
VF Corporation Appoints Bracken Darrell as President and CEO
VF Corporation announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Bracken Darrell as President and CEO, effective July 17, 2023. Darrell will join VF from Logitech International S.A., where he served as President and CEO since 2013.
In connection with Darrell’s appointment, Benno Dorer, who has served as VF’s Interim President and CEO since December 5, 2022, and a member of VF’s Board since 2017, will remain a VF Board member. Richard Carucci, a VF Board member since 2009 and Interim Chair of the Board during VF’s recent leadership transition period, has been named Chair of the Board of VF.
“VF’s Board of Directors couldn’t be more pleased with our appointment of Bracken as VF’s 12th CEO in the company’s 124-year history,” said Carucci. “We conducted an extensive search and determined that Bracken has all the attributes to excel in this role. He is a transformational and visionary business leader with a strong track record of performance across multiple industries. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated an outstanding ability to enhance design capabilities, delight consumers, and accelerate revenue growth and margin expansion. His broad executive management and deep international experience make him uniquely suited to partner with and guide VF’s executive team and 35,000 talented associates around the world to fuel an exciting new future for the company. We are highly confident that under Bracken’s leadership, VF will achieve new levels of success that will make its associates, investors, and stakeholders proud.”
Darrell has proven experience in business leadership, product innovation, and brand management roles with blue-chip companies. He will take the helm at VF following an exceptional 10 years as the President and CEO of Logitech International where he is credited with a turnaround of Logitech’s business by expanding into new categories and improving market share through the introduction of new and innovative products and the elevation of design as a pillar of the company’s strategy. Under Darrell’s leadership, Logitech expanded into more than 20 new product categories, more than doubled revenue, and achieved a tenfold increase in market capitalization.
Prior to Logitech, Darrell held international leadership roles of increasing responsibility at Procter & Gamble where he was President of Braun globally, the Whirlpool Corporation where he was President of EMEA, and General Electric. Early in his career, upon graduating business school, Darrell held brand management roles with Procter & Gamble and is credited with leading the turnaround of the Old Spice brand. He received a B.A. from Hendrix College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Darrell is a purpose-driven leader who emphasizes the importance of social responsibility, including environmental sustainability. At Logitech, he wove social responsibility into the company’s mission and strategy and built its reputation as a sustainability leader within the tech industry. In addition, Darrell is highly focused on equity in the workplace and has been a featured speaker on the topic of corporate diversity and inclusion.
“It’s an honor and privilege to have the opportunity to serve as President and CEO of VF,” said Darrell. “Like millions of people around the world, I love VF’s iconic brands. I’m so impressed by this organization’s sustained ability to keep its portfolio of brands at the forefront of culture over time during its 124-year history. I look forward to working closely with the Board, leadership team and the talented associates across VF to build on the initiatives underway to strengthen business performance and drive strong and sustainable growth and shareholder value creation. I can’t wait to get to work.”
Commenting on Dorer’s service as VF’s Interim President and CEO, Carucci added: “I know I speak on behalf of VF’s Board of Directors and global workforce when I extend my deepest gratitude to Benno for serving as Interim President and CEO. His passion for VF’s brands and overall love for the company is evident and served as a strong north star that guided his leadership actions during this transition. While in the role, Benno engaged with and energized VF’s global teams, sharpened execution and strengthened the company’s financial stability and discipline. He has done an excellent job preparing for this handoff to Bracken and I know he’ll continue to make meaningful contributions as a member of VF’s Board.”
Alibaba Announced Joseph C. Tsai Chairman, Eddie Yongming Wu CEO, & Daniel Zhang Chairman and CEO of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group
Alibaba Group board of directors announced that Joseph C. Tsai, currently Executive Vice Chairman, will succeed Daniel Zhang as Chairman of the Company.Eddie Yongming Wu, Chairman of Taobao and Tmall Group, will succeed Mr. Zhang as Chief Executive Officer and replace Mr. Zhang on the Company’s board of directors. Both appointments will take effect on September 10, 2023. Following this transition, Mr. Zhang will continue to lead Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“It has been an incredible honor and privilege to lead Alibaba Group as CEO over the past eight years and Chairman over the past four years. This is the right time for me to make a transition, given the importance of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group as it progresses towards a full spin-off. I look forward to working closely with Joe and Eddie in the coming months to ensure a seamless transition,” said Daniel Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group. “Looking ahead, I am committed to strengthening Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group’s market leadership by making cloud computing and artificial intelligence more accessible for businesses of all sizes and industries as they continue their digital transformation. The emergence of generative AI has also opened up exciting new opportunities that Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group is well-positioned to capture.”
“Daniel has made exceptional contributions to the development of Alibaba Group since joining the company in 2007, and he demonstrated extraordinary leadership in navigating unprecedented uncertainties affecting our business over the past few years. We believe there is no better leader than Daniel to steer Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group into the next chapter of its journey and future growth,” said Joseph Tsai.
“As chief technology officer of key businesses including Taobao and Alipay during Alibaba’s critical phases of development, Eddie was instrumental in architecting our technology platforms and guiding our strategic direction. He led the creation of our proprietary monetization platform on Taobao and Tmall, and drove the launch of the Mobile Taobao App to propel our company to the mobile-first era. I look forward to working with Eddie to spark our next phase of growth through technology and innovation,” said Tsai.
“I am grateful for the trust of the Alibaba Group board of directors and am honored to succeed Daniel as Alibaba’s CEO,” said Eddie Yongming Wu, who in addition to taking on the role of Chief Executive Officer, will continue to serve as Chairman of wholly-owned subsidiary Taobao and Tmall Group. “Over the past 24 years, Alibaba has consistently innovated through evolution and breakthroughs from within, and each transformation has catalyzed new growth. While our current transformation brings in a new corporate organizational and governance structure, Alibaba’s mission remains unchanged. We will continue to enable individuals and businesses to benefit from the digital economy and serve our customers with unique value proposition supported by innovation and our leading technology.”
Eddie Yongming Wu is one of our co-founders, a member of the Alibaba Partnership and chairman of Taobao and Tmall Group since May 2023. Mr. Wu was technology director of Alibaba at the company’s inception in 1999. He served as chief technology officer of Alipay from December 2004, and became business director of our monetization platform, Alimama, in November 2005 and was promoted to its general manager in December 2007. In September 2008, he became chief technology officer of Taobao , and in October 2011 he took on the role of head of Alibaba Group’s search, advertising and mobile business. Mr. Wu served as director of Alibaba Health Information Technology Limited (“Alibaba Health”), a company listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, from April 2015 to October 2021 and chairman of Alibaba Health from April 2015 to March 2020. From September 2014 to September 2019, Mr. Wu was special assistant to Alibaba Group’s board chairman. In August 2015, Mr. Wu founded Vision Plus Capital, a venture capital firm focused on investing in advanced technologies, enterprise services and digital healthcare. He graduated from the College of Information Engineering of Zhejiang University of Technology in June 1996.
PUMA Announced Shirley Li as General Manager in China
Sports company PUMA has appointed Shirley Li as its new General Manager in China as part of the company’s strategy to strengthen its business in this important market.
Shirley, a native Chinese who joined PUMA in early 2023 as Commercial Director, has more than 20 years of industry experience and gained a deep understanding of the Chinese market and consumer. Before joining PUMA, Shirley worked as VP Wholesale at adidas and she holds a law degree from Fudan University.
Philippe will also take on the position of General Manager Hong Kong, while Paul Yu will remain General Manager of Taiwan. Both, Shirley and Paul, will report to Philippe.
“I am very excited that we will open a new chapter for PUMA China under the new leadership of Shirley,” said Arne Freundt, PUMA CEO. “I am very confident that under her leadership we will rebound strongly in China which is one of our key strategic priorities. I want to thank Philippe for more than 10 years as General Manager of PUMA China. He has done a great job under often very challenging circumstances and I wish him all the best for his new role as Area Manager.”
David Lu will further strengthen PUMA China’s top management by replacing Shirley as Commercial Director. He has been with PUMA since March 2023 and has worked in the fashion and sports industry for more than 15 years. Most recently, he worked as the General Manager of Retail Operations at Levi’s.
All of these changes will become effective July 1, 2023.
Founder of Bonobos Andy Dunn Unites with New Brand Owner WHP Global
WHP Global, a leading global brand management firm and owner of the fashion brand Bonobos®, announced that Andy Dunn, founder of Bonobos, will be joining WHP Global in an advisory role for the newly acquired Bonobos brand.
A well-known entrepreneur, author and investor, Andy Dunn co-founded Bonobos in 2007 and served as Founding CEO for its first ten years pioneering the digitally native brand movement. His appointment as brand advisor follows the joint acquisition of Bonobos by WHP Global and fashion apparel retailer, Express, Inc. (EXPR).
Andy 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 future of the brand.
“Getting back into the mix at Bonobos is a magical, full-circle moment,” said Andy Dunn. “Yehuda, Tim and the teams at WHP Global and EXPR are wonderful people and will be exceptional brand stewards. In partnership with John and the strong leadership team at Bonobos, we’re going to do great things on behalf of current and future Bonobos customers.”
“As the co-Founder of Bonobos and a retail innovator, Andy has a unique perspective that we are fortunate to have access to as we work with WHP Global to begin the next chapter of growth for Bonobos,” said Tim Baxter, CEO of EXPR.
Bonobos pioneered the use of e-commerce as a scalable platform for an American brand, while simultaneously introducing Guideshop locations that served as the brand’s experiential store model. Today, Bonobos continues to lead the digitally native menswear category and deliver double-digit sales growth.
“The future of the Bonobos brand is incredibly exciting as we welcome back Andy Dunn and focus on activating the brand’s potential by leveraging the combined platforms of WHP Global and EXPR,” said Yehuda Shmidman, CEO and Chairman of WHP Global. “With Andy Dunn’s extensive expertise and unwavering passion for the brand, we are confident that he will play a vital role in guiding the Bonobos brand through its next phase of growth.”
Frasers Group Fashion CEO Greg Pateras Exits
The fashion CEO at Frasers Group Greg Pateras has left the company after being in this role for under a year.
In charge of acquired Manchester-based brands Misguided and I Saw It First, Pateras merged the two companies, integrating them into the wider Frasers Group platform. Pateras was CEO at I Saw It First when Frasers bought it. Prior to that he was COO and deputy CEO at Matalan guiding its digital turnaround. Pateras was also CFO at The Very Group.
“We have achieved so much! A sale, restructuring and a merger! Whilst we have known this day is coming, it’s always emotional to say goodbye to a talented bunch who have given me so much.” – Greg Pateras