Manley, A Veteran In Fashion PR, Joined Burberry From Calvin Klein In 2019
Burberry’s chief marketing officer, Rod Manley, will depart from the company at the end of this year. Manley took up the role in January 2019 after joining from Calvin Klein in New York.
Reporting initially to then-CEO Marco Gobbetti, and currently to CEO Jonathan Akeroyd, Manley has led all marketing, communications, and creative media teams at Burberry. His tenure included navigating challenges such as COVID-19, Brexit, and a post-pandemic decline in luxury goods sales. He also collaborated with designers Riccardo Tisci and Daniel Lee, Burberry’s current chief creative officer.
Before Burberry, Manley served as executive vice president of influence marketing and communications at Calvin Klein. His extensive career includes senior roles at Giorgio Armani and a stint at KCD. Manley joined Calvin Klein in 2015 and previously spent nine years at Giorgio Armani, working in both New York and Milan.
Manley’s departure is understood to have been planned, and Burberry will commence the search for his replacement.
In fiscal 2024, Burberry reported a 4 percent decline in revenue to £2.97 billion, with adjusted operating profit dropping 34 percent to £418 million. At constant exchange rates, revenue was flat for the year ended March 30, and adjusted operating profit fell by 25 percent as spending from Chinese and American customers decreased.
The company had earlier warned that adjusted operating profit would fall between £410 million and £460 million, lower than previously expected. Burberry, along with other luxury goods brands, has faced a slowdown in demand, particularly in China and the U.S., and has also been impacted by the cancellation of the tax-free shopping program in the U.K.
Despite these challenges, Akeroyd noted that Burberry made “good progress” in 2024, refocusing the brand image, evolving products, strengthening distribution, and delivering operational improvements. Looking ahead, Akeroyd stated, “We are using what we have learned over the past year to fine-tune our approach, while adapting to the external environment. We remain confident in our strategy to realize Burberry’s potential, and we are setting ourselves up for future growth.”
Akeroyd and his team are working towards a medium-term revenue target of £4 billion and are optimistic about achieving this goal.