Centric Brands names Laura Ritchey as new COO

By

Robin Driver

Published
Feb 3, 2020

New York-based brand development company Centric Brands Inc. announced on Monday that it has appointed L Brands alum Laura Ritchey as its new chief operating officer.

 
In her new role, Ritchey will serve alongside the other members of the company’s executive leadership team and will be responsible for developing Centric’s global operating platform.
 
She will also be tasked with overseeing sourcing, warehousing, logistics and information technology at the company. She will report to Centric Brands CEO Jason Rabin.

Ritchey has over 20 years of experience in operations leadership and joins the company from FullBeauty Brands, where she has served as COO since January 2017.
 
Prior to this, the executive worked as EVP for MP&A and operations at Victoria’s Secret from October 2015 to December 2016, having previously spent more than six years in senior operations leadership roles at the lingerie label’s parent company, L Brands.
 
Ritchey began her career in accounting at Arthur Andersen, before joining Cardinal Health, where she held a series of positions of increasing responsibility in the tax and treasury departments.
 
She holds a BA and an MBA from the Ohio State University, as well as a JD from the same institution’s Moritz College of Law.
 
“Laura has successfully led all aspects of operations including business transformation, strategy, and day to day execution and will be an important addition to our leadership team,” said Rabin in a release. “As we look to drive greater efficiency in operations and develop faster and more agile business processes, Laura’s experience will support our improved operating performance and future growth.”
 
“I am delighted to be joining the Centric Brands team at such an exciting time in their transformation and look forward to working with Jason and the leadership team,” added Ritchey. “I will be focused on enhancing our end-to-end supply chain and operating infrastructure to improve product quality and speed to market and optimize costs enabling the business to expand and grow.”

Founded in 1987, Centric owns the Hudson, Robert Graham, Swims and Avirex brands. The company also operates a large and varied license portfolio, which includes the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Under Armour and Hervé Léger, among others.