Janie and Jack appoints new CEO to lead next chapter

By

Robin Driver

Published
Dec 12, 2021

Having acquired Janie and Jack from Gap Inc. earlier this year, Go Global Retail has major expansion plans for the premium kidswear brand. And to lead the company into this next phase, the Californian brand investment platform announced on Friday that it has appointed J.Jill and Lane Bryant alum Linda Heasley as the label’s new president and CEO.

 
In her new role at the head of Janie and Jack, Heasley will steer the brand toward its long-term goals, which involve elevating its growth through both international and digital expansion.
 
She joins the company from Downshift LLC, where she has served as president and CEO since January 2020. Prior to this, the executive served as president and CEO at J.Jill from 2018 to 2019 and at Lane Bryant from 2013 to 2017. She also played an instrumental role in driving the growth of The Limited, when she served as CEO at the company from 2007 to 2013.

Heasley, who holds a BA from Harvard University and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management, has also served on the board of Sally Beauty since 2017.
 
As noted by Go Global Retail in a release, 98% of Janie and Jack’s business is currently domestic, but the brand already has strong interest developing in the Middle East, the UK and Europe, which the company is eager to take advantage of.
 
Heasley also highlighted that Janie and Jack is in the process of enhancing its tech capacities and performance marketing, making investments in CDP, customer segmentation software and tokenization. The executive further explained that the brand is developing its unified commerce platform in order to improve customer experience across all channels.
 
“Janie and Jack is a wonderful brand that has separated itself from other brands in the marketplace through exceptional product and innovative marketing,” she commented. “I look forward to working with the leadership team to bring this successful, extraordinary brand to new customers globally.”
 
Founded in 2002, Janie and Jack was acquired by Gap Inc. in 2019, before being sold on to Go Global Retail in April 2021 as the San Francisco-based fashion conglomerate responded to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic by winnowing down its brand portfolio.
 
Janie and Jack currently runs 117 stores and an e-commerce website. The company employs over 800 people across the United States.