Consumer Affairs & Relations

Tewksbury, Mass. – The saga over the dismissal of former Demoulas Super Markets Inc. CEO Arthur T. Demoulas continues, with Demoulas making public commentary for the first time.

FreshDirect has tapped longtime public employee Larry Scott Blackmon as the grocery delivery company’s VP, community and government affairs.  
 
In his new position, Blackmon will work to build and expand the company’s community partnerships — especially in New York City’s Bronx borough, where FreshDirect is relocating its office.
 

Indianapolis - Julie Lyle, chief marketing officer of Hhgregg, has been named the 2015 chairperson for the Global Retail Marketing Association (GRMA) Advisory Board, an association for C-level executives from global retailers. As chairperson, Lyle will lead the GRMA Advisory Board and play a key role in the development of the organization’s strategic initiatives and thought leadership.

Melville, N.Y. – EconsumerServices, an online mediator between unsatisfied customers and e-commerce retailers, has signed JoTo PR as its public relations agency. JoTo PR will assist EConsumerServices in reaching its mass market of online consumers and making industry opinion leaders and government officials aware of the issue of fraud-related chargebacks.

Tiffany’s long-standing CEO Michael J. Kowalski will retire from the company March 31, 2015. Kowalski, who has been a member of the company’s board of directors since 1995, will continue to serve as non-executive chairman.

The board has tapped Frederic Cumenal, currently the company’s president, as Kowalski’s successor; he will step up to the CEO role April 1, 2015.

Kowalski joined Tiffany in 1983, became CEO in 1999 and assumed the role of chairman of the board in 2003.

New York - Michael J. Kowalski, CEO of Tiffany and Co., will retire from the company effective March 31, 2015. Kowalski, who has been with Tiffany for 30 years and a member of the company’s board of directors since 1995, will continue to serve on the board in the role of non-executive chairman.

Tiffany has named Frederic Cumenal, currently the company’s president, to succeed Kowalski as CEO effective April 1, 2015. Kowalski, 62, joined Tiffany in 1983, became CEO in 1999 and assumed the role of chairman of the board in 2003.

Imagine a lifelong Procter & Gamble employee suddenly named CEO of Walmart and that is essentially what happened at leading global retail Tesco where the company has named long time Unilever executive Dave Lewis as its next CEO.

Mahwah, N.J. - Dirk Montgomery, executive VP and CFO of Ascena Retail Group Inc. since January 2013, has accepted a position with a healthcare-related company based in Florida. Ascena has initiated a search process for a new CFO.

Montgomery has agreed to remain through the end of the summer. Randy Pearce, a member of Ascena’s board of directors, chair of the Audit Committee, and former CFO of Regis Corp. from 1998 to 2011, will increase his involvement in overseeing the company’s finance department during the transition.