Welcome to On the Move. Every week, The Current is rounding up the comings and goings of leaders at brands and retailers across the ecommerce, retail and CPG landscape.
This week, marketing leaders from key consumer tech platforms are making the jump to consumer goods, while JC Penney is elevating a chief customer officer to further digital customer experience. Plus, the leadership teams at Vuori and Canada Goose are expanding as the brands gear up for global growth.
Kenny Mitchell is joining Levi’s as chief marketing officer. Mitchell comes to the denim brand from Snap, where he served as CMO since 2019 at Snapchat. Previously, he served as vice president of brand content and engagement at McDonald’s USA, and head of consumer engagement at PepsiCo-owned Gatorade.
Mitchell will report to Michelle Gass, who joined Levi Strauss as president last year after serving as the CEO of Kohl’s. Gass has been named the successor to Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh.
“Kenny is widely recognized as an innovative marketing leader and talent builder, with an impressive track record of growing global brands and pioneering digital marketing strategies to accelerate value creation,” said Gass, in a statement.
Luxury marketplace Farfetch named Nick Tran as its next chief marketing officer. Tran joins the company from TikTok, where he served as global head of marketing, overseeing consumer-facing marketing. Tran previously served in marketing executive roles at Samsung and Hulu.
“Successful marketing requires constant innovation and a willingness to push the envelope, something that Nick displayed at TikTok, in particular,” said Edward Sabbagh, Farfetch’s chief marketplace officer.
Activewear brand Vuori hired for key C-suite positions as it eyes global growth. These include:
Hugh Garrity was appointed chief people officer, joining after a stint as global operations at DTC cooler brand Yeti.
Bryan Muehlberger was hired as chief information officer to lead digital and IT across ecommerce and retail. Previously, Muehlberger served as CIO of the Beachbody Company and Redbull.
Libby Stockstill was named the brand’s first general counsel and corporate secretary. She will establish and lead Vuori’s legal department. Previously, Stockstill served as VP and general counsel at Vans and general counsel of Billabong.
Jen Frisch will join Vuori as chief people officer. Previously, she served as SVP of partner resources at Starbucks.
Katie Mullen. (Courtesy photo)
Katie Mullen was named chief customer officer of JC Penney. Mullen is being promoted from the role of chief digital officer.
In the new role, she will continue to oversee ecommerce and omnichannel, while adding a focus on customer marketing, engagement and analytics.
“Creating space for Katie to link our digital technology, customer insights and personalization capabilities and to bring it to life through an integrated, end-to-end customer experience is a natural evolution of her role and will help take us to the next level,” said Marc Rosen, chief executive officer of JCPenney, in a statement.
Mullen previously served as chief digital officer at Neiman Marcus.
Following the rollout of a five-year strategic growth plan that will center on retail expansion and DTC, outerwear brand Canada Goose made key hiring and promotion moves to its senior leadership team. They are:
Matt Blonder was named the brand’s first-ever chief digital officer. He brings over 20 years of experience, most recently with Wolverine Worldwide.
Juliette Streichenberger will serve as president of CGAG and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). She joins from Hermès, and previously led teams at LVMH and Prada. With this hire, Pat Sherlock is departing the role after 10 years with Canada Goose.
Ana Mihaljevic was named head of global stores to go along with her current role of president of North America. She will now lead the brand’s long-term roadmap for global expansion.
Daniel Binder was named chief transformation officer and EVP of sales operations and planning. Binder previously held senior roles at LVMH’s DFS and Macy’s.
Patrick Bourke was promoted to SVP of strategy and corporate development, rising from a role leading investor relations and strategy.
Sara Moss. (Courtesy photo)
The Estée Lauder Companies announced that Sara Moss will retire from the role of vice chairman, effective July 1.
Moss joined the beauty company in 2003 as EVP and general counsel before being appointed to her current role.
Moss is credited with leading the company’s legal function and serving as corporate secretary during a period of growth, as well as championing initiatives in diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as philanthropy.
“Sara is an exceptional legal mind, a skilled advisor, a valued mentor, and a much-loved leader whose strategic insights, business acumen and sound judgment have contributed greatly to our company’s success,” said Estée Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda, in a statement. “Her incredible character, steadfast integrity and deep empathy will be greatly missed across the organization.”
