J.Crew bolsters management team

J.Crew Group announced on Thursday several new additions to its leadership team made “to advance its long-term strategic growth plan.”

Among them, Danielle Schmelkin was named chief information officer. She most recently served as chief information officer of Madewell.

Derek Yarbrough was appointed chief marketing officer, where he will be responsible for all marketing, creative, and e-commerce initiatives for the J.Crew and Madewell brands. He spent the previous eight years at Madewell, where he played increasingly important roles, and most recently served as the brand's CMO.

Next, Liz Hershfield will assume the newly created role of senior vice president sustainability, where she will lead sustainability innovation for the J.Crew, Madewell and J.Crew Factory brands. She will continue to oversee sourcing for Madewell as well in this new role.

Finally, Jose Davila was named chief people officer. He most recently served as vice president of human resources for Levi Strauss & Co., where he oversaw North and South America, and previously, he spent more than ten years at Gap Inc.

On the management team, they join Michael Nicholson, chief operating officer and Vincent Zanna, chief financial officer.

"I believe strong and relevant brands are customer-centric, community-minded, purpose-driven and powered through innovation, technology and a deeply collaborative culture," said Libby Wadle, J.Crew Group's chief executive officer.

"Jose, Danielle, Derek and Liz are proven leaders in their respective fields, share our core values, and bring significant expertise as well as a passion for our brands that will drive our business forward.”

Likewise, the group expanded its board of directors to six members with the nomination of three new members including Frits Dirk van Paasschen, a former executive at The Coors Brewing Company, Starwood Hotels, Resorts Worldwide, and Nike. He currently serves on the board of directors of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and Royal DSM.

Anna Fieler also joined the board. She founded and currently runs Madison Park Ventures, a venture capital firm. Previously, she was chief marketing officer of PopSugar. She currently serves on the board of directors of Shake Shack Inc. and Quinstreet, Inc.

The last new member is Nadia Rawlinson, who currently serves as the chief people officer at Slack. Previously, she was the chief human resources officer at Live Nation Entertainment and Rakuten USA and she also served as co-head of global human resources of Groupon.

The company currently operates 152 J.Crew retail stores, 143 Madewell stores, and 147 J.Crew Factory stores in nearly every state in the United States, and also maintains J.Crew, Madewell, and J.Crew Factory websites.

J.Crew bolsters management team

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