Bath & Body Works CEO exits; former Nike exec tapped as new leader
Bath & Body Works has named its second new CEO in less than years.
The personal care and home fragrance retailer said it has appointed Daniel Heaf as its new chief executive, effectively immediately, replacing Gina Boswell, who has “stepped down” from the role and as board member. In March, Bath & Body Works revealed that Boswell, a former Unilever executive who had served as CEO of the company since December 2022, would undergo surgery and take a leave of absence lasting “several weeks.”
Most recently, Heaf served as chief strategy and transformation officer for Nike. (The role was eliminated earlier this year by CEO Elliott Hill, who retook the reins of the athletic giant in late 2024.) Prior to that, Heaf served as head of Nike Direct, where he oversaw 45,000 employees in 9,000 stores across 41 countries and more than doubled the business to $22.3 billion in five years.
Before Nike, Heaf served as senior VP of digital, digital marketing, customer service and data at Burberry.
“Daniel is a forward-thinking leader with a remarkable track record of driving innovative, transformative growth across iconic global brands,” said Sarah Nash, chair, Bath & Body Works. “He brings bold and direct leadership which energizes and inspires teams to rally behind him. His vision for evolving Bath & Body Works to be highly coveted, relevant, and resonant for customers everywhere — combined with his consumer-first mindset — make him the right person to lead Bath & Body Works.”
In her statement, Nash also thanked Boswell for her contributions, noting that “in the post COVID-normalization period she was able to stabilize the business and return it to profitable revenue growth.”
The news about the leadership change was accompanied by a pre-announcement of Bath & Body Works’ preliminary first quarter net sales and earnings, both of which surpassed estimates. Revenue increased 3% year over year to $1.42 billion for the quarter ended May 3. Earnings totaled $0.49 per share compared to $0.38 per share in the year-ago period.
Bath & Body Works operates 1,895 locations in the U.S. and Canada, along with 529 international franchised locations.
