C-Suite Moves: January update
Here’s a look at the major C-suite appointments that occurred during the month of January (starting with the most recent).
•Levi Strauss & Co. entered a new era as Michelle Gass, the former Kohl’s chief who was appointed president of the apparel giant in 2023, took the reins of the company from longtime CEO Chip Bergh, who retired on Jan. 29.
•Northeast Grocery Inc. tapped a company veteran as its new chief executive. The parent company of Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops Friendly Markets said that CEO Frank Curci will retire as part of the grocer's succession plan. He will be succeeded by NGI’s COO, John Persons, effective Feb. 26.
•Caspe named the former CEO of a rival brand to lead its next stage of growth. The mattress and sleep products appointed Joe Megibow as CEO, effective immediately. He succeeds the departing Emilie Arel, who will assist in the transition until March 1, 2024.
•Ed Tilly, the CEO of Tilly’s, stepped down following a softer than anticipated holiday season. Hezy Shaked, co-founder and executive chairman, was appointed as Tilly’s interim president and CEO until a successor is in place.
•Kirkland’s named its first female chief executive. The home retailer promoted Amy Sullivan to CEO, effective Feb. 5. She succeeds interim CEO Ann Joyce, who will remain on the company’s board.
•Target Corp. promoted Michael Fiddelke to the role of COO. He has has served as the chain’s since Nov. 1, 2019, as COO. He succeeds long-time executive John Mulligan, who announced his plans to retire in October.
•Marta Benson, CEO of Pottery Barn Brands, will retire effective April 26. The 13-year company veteran has served in the position since January 2023. Prior to that, Benson was president of the Pottery Barn brand.
•Academy Sports + Oudoors named Chad Fox to the newly created role of executive VP and chief customer office, overseeing omnichannel, marketing, customer insights and customer care. Most recently, he spent five years at Dollar General, where he served as senior VP and chief marketing officer and led the brand strategy, marketing, media and digital teams.
•Gap Inc. named Eric Chan to the new position of chief business and strategy officer, and Amy Thompson as chief people officer. Thompson succeeds Sheila Peters, who has served in the role since 2020 and previously announced her intention to step down.
•Carter’s said that Brian Lynch, president & COO, will retire effective March 1, 2024. Richard Westenberger, executive VP and CFO, will be promoted to senior executive VP, and COO, with added responsibility for the company’s supply chain operations. In other appointments, the infants’ and young children’s apparel brand promoted Kendra Krugman, executive VP, retail and chief merchandising officer, to senior executive VP, chief creative and growth officer.
•Rothy’s appointed board member and retail executive Jenny Ming as CEO. She succeeds company co-founder Stephen Hawthornthwaite, who is transitioning to the role of board chair. Ming is best known for her tenure at Gap Inc., which she joined in 1986 and where she held several executive positions, including serving on the founding team of Old Navy, where she was president from 1993 to 2006.
•CVS Health named senior VP of corporate finance and interim CFO Tom Cowhey as permanent CFO. Cowhey joined CVS in February of 2022. He previously served as CFO of Surgery Partners Inc., and before that spent more than a decade at Aetna.
•Genesco Inc. appointed Chris Santaella as executive VP and chief merchandising officer of the the company's largest business unit, Journey Group. He joins from Foot Locker, where he served more than three decades in successive leadership roles, most recently as senior VP and chief merchandising officer.
•Race Trac promoted a third-generation family member Natalie Morhous to chief executive officer. Morhous, who has served as president of RaceTrac since 2019, succeeds Max McBrayer, who departed the company after 32 years and served as chief executive since 2019.