On the Move: Amazon's retail CEO, Zac Efron and Tim Tebow join food brands

Amazon names Doug Herrington as CEO of Amazon Stores

With the departure of Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO Dave Clark approaching at the end of this month, the company named a new leader of its retail and ecommerce division on Tuesday.

Doug Herrington, a longtime Amazon executive with expertise in grocery, will lead the division as CEO. With this promotion, the consumer division is being renamed to Amazon Stores.

Herrington joined Amazon in 2005 and built out the company’s consumables business, then launched the Amazon Fresh grocery business in 2007. Since 2015, he has led Amazon’s North American consumer business. Herrington has been a longtime member of Amazon’s S-team, which is the group of executives from across the company that meets regularly on important issues facing the company. He served on that team with current Amazon CEO Andy Jassy since 2011.

Of Herrington, Jassy wrote, “He is a builder of great teams and brings substantial retail, grocery, demand generation, product development, and Amazon experience to bear. He’s also a terrific inventor for customers, thinks big, has thoughtful vision around how category management and ops can work well together, is a unifier, is highly curious, and an avid learner.”

Along with this move, Amazon’s operations division will be united and led by John Felton. An 18-year veteran of Amazon, Felton held leadership roles in areas including retail and operations finance, as well as fulfillment and logistics.

“John has strong end-to-end knowledge of our Fulfillment network, operates with an important mix of strategic thinking and a command of the details that matter most in our network, is right a lot, and is a strong team builder who is dedicated to making Amazon a great place to work for our employees,” Jassy wrote.

Felton will report to Herrington.

According to Business Insider, this news also comes with a pair of departures: Amazon SVP of Global Customer Fulfillment Alicia Boler-Davis and VP of Transportation Services David Bozeman are both leaving the company.

Jassy laid out the full slate of executives reporting to Herrington and their areas of leadership as follows:

• Russ Grandinetti, International Stores
• Christine Beauchamp, North America Stores
• Tony Hoggett, Physical Stores
• Dave Treadwell, Ecommerce Foundation
• Neil Lindsay, Pharmacy/AmazonCare/Healthcare
• Dharmesh Mehta, Selling Partner Services
• Peter Larsen, Buy with Prime
• Pat Bajari, Chief Economist
• John Felton, Operations

Zac Efron joins Kodiak as chief brand officer, board member

Food brand Kodiak announced a partnership with Zac Efron that will see the actor/producer join the company as chief brand officer and take a board seat as a shareholder.

Efron will be seeking to inspire Kodiak customers in support of brand focus areas such as conservation, healthy eating and giving. He will also seek to apply knowledge of sustainable agricultural practices, wellness and fitness to his work with the brand.

"We're really excited to welcome Zac and his valued perspectives to Kodiak," said Kodiak Cofounder and CEO Joel Clark, in a statement. "We've all watched Zac build a life of adventure that prioritizes wellness from the inside out, which he attributes in part to his belief in real food, making this collaboration feel so right. His global reach, passion for the outdoors, and focus on balanced nutrition makes him an ideal partner. We are teaming up to influence the future of food and keep America wild for future generations."

Kodiak, known for whole-grain, protein-packed breakfast and snacking products, is backed by global consumer investment firm L Catterton.

Football legend Tim Tebow is the CMO of NuSkool Snacks

Low-sugar snacks brand NuSkool Snacks is bringing on Tim Tebow as chief mission officer.

Tebow, who led the Florida Gators to a pair of national championships as quarterback and went on to become a media personality, will serve as the face of the company and help to elevate it with his followers. Tebow has equity in the company along with the role, according to a news release.

Founded by personal trainer and nutritionist Joe Christensen, NuSkool Snacks has a line of collagen bars and plant-based protein bars that contain 88% less sugar than leaders in the market, the company says. The company sells through a mix of channels, including DTC, Amazon and retail grocery stores.

Investors in NuSkool Snacks include Super Coffee founders Jim, Jake and Jordan DeCicco, Liquid I.V. Founder Hayden Fulstone and Sandbox Studios Managing Partner Jackie Fast. The brand was also a participant in CoLab, a program from Mondelēz International innovation arm SnackFutures.

Asos elevates Calamonte to CEO

Digital fashion retailer Asos promoted José Antonio Ramos Calamonte to the role of CEO.

Calamonte served as chief commercial officer since January 2021, joining the company after holding leadership roles at brands including Inditex, Esprit and Carrefour Spain. He succeeds Nick Beighton, who stepped down as CEO in the fall of 2021 as sales growth slowed.

Along with Calamonte’s elevation, Asos named Jørgen Lindemann as chairman of the board. The former president of Swedish digital entertainment business Modern Times Group, Lindemann is currently the chair of Miinto, a Danish online fashion marketplace.

Natura &Co announces reorganization

Cosmetics group Natura &Co is set to reorganize its corporate structure. It will do so under a new leader: Fabio Barbosa, who is currently a non-executive director with the company, will lead the Nature &Co Group, as well as a workstream that shapes the company into a “new and leaner corporate structure that will be implemented in the coming months,” a news release states.

Barbosa was previously CEO of the Abril publishing group and Santander Brazil. He also served as president of Brazilian banking federation Febraban and Banco Real/ABN Amro.

In turn, current CEO and executive chairman Roberto Marques will step down from those roles, and plans to retire at the end of the year.

São Paulo, Brazil-based Natura &Co houses brands including Avon, Natura, The Body Shop and Aesop. Collectively, the group posted net revenue of $4 billion in 2021.

Estée Lauder names new leaders for Origins, Bumble and bumble

The Estée Lauder Companies made a pair of brand leadership appointments. Both executives will serve on the company’s executive leadership team, and report to Executive Group President Jane Hertzmark Hudis. They include:

• Amber Garrison was named global brand president of skincare and body products brand Origins. She previously served as global brand president of haircare brand Bumble and bumble and VP of corporate strategy at ELC.
• In turn, Corey Reese was promoted to SVP and general manager of Bumble and bumble. He previously served in the role of VP of strategic initiatives and business operations, supporting M∙A∙C, Clinique, Tom Ford Beauty, Smashbox, GlamGlow and Too Faced.

Missguided CEO Nitin Passi returns

Nitin Passi will return to UK-based fast fashion retailer Missguided as CEO, just months after stepping down from the role.

This return follows the May 30 acquisition of Missguided out of administration by Frasers Group. Passi had exited the business in April.

“Frasers Group has an unrivalled platform and fantastic operational know-how, giving Missguided a solid foundation on which we can build a successful future,” Passi said in a news release announcing the move. “I am acutely aware of the impact Missguided’s administration has had on our stakeholders and I am committed to rebuilding their trust.”

Shipium adds 3 leaders

Retail and ecommerce fulfillment platform Shipium added three new leaders. This follows on the heels of the company’s close of a $27.5 million Series A in April. The appointments are as follows:

• Shilpa Tiwari is now VP of engineering and data science. She previously served as Group Engineering Manager at Microsoft, leading the DataGrid Intelligence platform.
• Jason Kerner was named senior VP of sales engineering. He previously served as global VP of solutions & value engineering and lab service at supply chain visibility company project44.
• Brian Thom was hired as VP of sales, joining Shipium from digital freight network Convoy, where he led sales, business development and strategy.

Utz Brands promotes two EVPs

Snack food manufacturer Utz Brands, Inc., made a pair of promotions that will elevate new members to its executive leadership team.

These include:

• Shannan Redcay was appointed EVP of manufacturing. Rising from SVP of manufacturing, Redcay joined Utz in 2015.
• Chad Whyte was elevated to EVP of supply chain. Previously SVP of supply chain and logistics, Whyte will now oversee procurement while continuing to run the company’s Integrated Business Management (IBM) program.

The promotions are effective as of June 21.

"Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have added over five million new consumers to our portfolio of brands across virtually all geographies and product sub-categories, while at the same time accelerating repeat purchase rates," said Utz COO Cary Devore, in a statement. "Today's announcement reflects our heightened focus on enhancing our manufacturing and supply chain organizations to support our rapid and unprecedented levels of growth.”