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01 November 2022
Away names president, New CEOs at Curology, Consumer Brands
On the Move has hiring updates from Keurig Dr. Pepper, Olaplex, Etsy and more.

On the Move has hiring updates from Keurig Dr. Pepper, Olaplex, Etsy and more.
Welcome to On the Move. Every week, The Current is rounding up the coming and goings of leaders at brands and retailers across the ecommerce, retail and CPG landscape.
This week, Away promotes a president, and new CEOs are stepping in at Curology, Consumer Brands Association and Bed, Bath & Beyond. Plus, there are new tech and digital leaders at Etsy, Keurig Dr. Pepper, Save Mart and Destination XL.
Here’s a look at this week’s moves:
Catherine Dunleavy was named president of Away, the digitally native luggage company. Dunleavy joined the brand from Nike in 2020 and previously served as chief financial officer with the company. Now, she will oversee strategy, supply chain, digital product, legal and finance. Dunleavy helped the brand navigate the slowdown in travel in the pandemic, then a recovery as travel returned. It is eying a phase of strategic growth, with Dunleavy leading alongside CEO Jen Rubio.
Catherine Dunleavy. (Courtesy photo)
Stand Out for Good, the parent company of apparel brand Altar'd State, is launching a new contemporary home brand. It recently brought on three leaders for the venture, which has yet to be named:
Heather Wallace is stepping into the CEO role at Curology, the prescription skincare brand. Wallace succeeds cofounder Dr. David Lortscher, who will become executive chair of the company’s board. Wallace previously served as president of the Americas at Revlon. Founded in 2014, Curology serves four million patients through teledermatology consultations and prescriptions. It reached profitability last quarter, and is expected to book $200 million in revenue in 2022.
"I decided to make this transition because the skills you need to successfully found a company are very different from the skills you need to grow an established company to its full potential – and I believe these decisions should be more common among founders," said Lortscher, in a statement.
Heather Wallace. (Courtesy photo)
Sue Gove was appointed CEO of Bed, Bath & Beyond. The move comes after she spent a stint as interim leader of the home retailer since June. Bed, Bath & Beyond has faced a series of quarters with falling sales and a slumping stock price. On August 31, it implemented a restructuring plan designed to improve financial positioning, increase customer engagement, drive traffic and recapture market share. This includes the closure of more than 150 underperforming stores.
David Chavern is being tapped for the CEO role at the Consumer Brands Association (CBA), which is the trade association representing 73 CPG companies. Chavern joins CBA after a stint as CEO of the News Media Alliance. CBA rebranded from Grocery Manufacturers Association in 2020, and has since recruited 30 new members.
Sudhanshu Priyadarshi was named chief financial officer of Keurig Dr. Pepper, and will lead the company’s financial and IT operations. Priyadarshi most recently served as CFO at Vista Outdoor Inc., and brings experience to the role from PepsiCo and Walmart.
Tiffany Walden resigned as chief operating officer and board member of haircare brand Olaplex, effective Oct. 18. Walden will serve as a senior advisor to the company through the end of 2022, then serve as an outside advisor for the next four years, according to a regulatory filing.
Orlando Ashford. (Courtesy photo)
Orlando Ashford was appointed chief people officer of Fanatics Holdings. Ashford will lead global HR, advance diversity and inclusion and strengthen philanthropic initiatives for the sports company’s three businesses: commerce, collectibles and betting & gaming. Ashford joins from a strategic advisor role at private equity company Sycamore Partners, and previously held senior HR roles at Marsh & McLennan Companies, The Coca-Cola Company, and Motorola, Inc., and was president of the Holland America Line.
Kelie Charles was named VP and chief diversity officer of Bath & Body Works. Charles will serve as the principal leader and strategist on diversity, equity and inclusion at the company. She previously led DEI strategy at The Home Depot.
Rachana Kumar is set to be promoted to chief technology officer at Etsy, effective Jan. 1. Kumar currently serves as VP of engineering at the marketplace. The promotion comes as Etsy CTO Mike Fisher is stepping down to spend more time with family and pursue other interests.
Tamara Pattison was named chief digital officer at Save Mart Companies, StoreBrands reported. In the newly created role, Pattison will focus on enhancing digital and ecommerce capabilities at the grocer. Pattison previously worked at DemandTec, Yahoo!, and Albertsons.
Ana Andjelic was named chief brand officer of apparel brand Espirit. The former chief brand officer of Banana Republic, Andjelic will be tasked with leading a rebrand and leading its global creative and design hub in New York. The move comes after Espirit brought on a new management team earlier this year, including CEO William Pak.
Jonathan Sainsbury is joining big and tall retailer Destination XL as chief digital and analytics officer. Sainsbury previously spent 17 years with online jewelry retailer Blue Nile, where he served in a variety of C-level roles. He also ran a consulting business focused on digital growth.Data helps Nike answer, "Who are the consumers we want to serve and what are they looking for?" said CEO John Donahoe.
Nike posted strong results in digital sales in its most recent quarter, as the apparel and footwear brand recorded 24% growth across apps and mobile.
At Nike, digital is a key part of the direct-to-consumer strategy that has become a priority for the brand in recent years as it exited or scaled back several important longtime wholesale partners.
“Looking ahead, [our Consumer Direct Acceleration strategy] continues to unlock our future growth potential by powering up our holistic offense across innovation, brand engagement and marketplace, all fueled by consumer insight,” CEO John Donahoe told analysts on the company’s recent earnings call. “As we know, consumers today have rising expectations and changing behaviors. What creates separation for Nike in this dynamic environment is our innovative product, brand scale and direct connections we have with our consumers.”
A key piece of this is customer data. This information is not only being harnessed to drive sales. Consumer insights play a growing role in the innovation process that creates new products. Talking to customers is nothing new among brands, but Nike's membership programs and other outreach efforts give it unique scale in identifying the next trends.
“Thanks to our consumers' love of our brand, we enjoy a high rate of engagement, fueling richer, deeper understanding,” Donahoe said. “Across the company, our insights model creates confidence in growth in ways that are uniquely Nike as we make the entire enterprise faster, more efficient and more targeted in the growth opportunities that we go after.”
Nike’s approach offers a window into how brands can leverage data that is gathered directly from customers. Known as first or zero-party data, this type of data is gaining increasing importance as third-party cookies and identity-based tracking tools fall out of favor due to privacy concerns.
Donahoe offered a look at three areas where Nike is using consumer insights:
In running, Nike is applying insight from the Nike Run Club app, as well as consumer feedback across brand touchpoints and marketplaces. When it found that Invincible wearers were putting more mileage on their shoes, it rolled out a new edition that was designed to provide more cushioning and comfort.
“Consumer response to the Invincible 3 was strong across our geos and throughout Nike Direct, strategic wholesale partners and running specialty doors,” Donahoe said. “And what really sets Invincible 3 apart is how we executed across the marketplace, driving consistent storytelling across channels, working closely with our partners to elevate our own retail presentation and theirs, all with a sharp focus on helping consumers find the right shoe for them.”
Runner feedback also led to the launch of a new shoe in complementary categories, such as the fast-growing trail running segment. This led to the launch of the Pegasus Trail 4, which is proving to be particularly popular among women.
In basketball, Nike is talking directly with athletes. They identified three key aspects of the game: cutting fast, playing long and jumping high. For instance, talking directly with WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu led to a shoe designed for cutting on a dime.
Air Max, which is an iconic Nike line, is “a great example of how we build significantly scaled businesses off our greatest performance innovations."
Using insights, the brand leverages qualitative and quantitative member data science as part of the brief process.
“We're able to ask ourselves, who are the consumers we want to serve and what are they looking for?” Donahoe said.
To create a shoe that is launching next week called Design by Japan Air Max 1 '87, Nike used polling data from the SNKRS app and local member surveys. At launch, the members who participated will be the first customers.
“Members who participated will be the first targeted for the shoe, creating NIKE's first full circle insights-to-shopping experience,” Donahoe said.
That’s how data shows up in what the consumer buys.