C-Suite Moves: June update
•Blain’s Farm & Fleet named Mark Hasting as CEO and president of the Midwest retailer. Jane Blain Gilbertson, current CEO of the family-owned business, will take on a new role as executive chair of the board and will remain the sole owner of the company. The transition will take place over the next several months and will complete in September.
•Claire's Holdings LLC announced that Ryan Vero stepped down as CEO and from the board. Vero had served in the role since July 2019, joining the company from Party City. No reason was given for his departure. Chris Cramer, who has served as COO and CFO since November 2023, was named interim CEO.
•Torrid Holdings promoted chief technology officer Hyon Park to COO, and Ashlee Wheeler, senior VP of company planning & strategy, to chief planning officer.
•Lowe’s Companies promoted company marketing veteran Jennifer Wilson, who most recently served as senior VP of enterprise brand and marketing, to senior VP and chief marketing officer. She joined the company in 2006.
•Upon exiting bankruptcy, fabric and crafts retailer Joann appointed Michael Prendergast, a managing director in Alvarez & Marsal’s consumer and retail group, as interim CEO. A search for a permanent CEO is under way. Chris DiTullio and Scott Sekella, who served as co-leads of the Interim Office of the CEO since May 2023 and led Joann through its Chapter 11 process, will continue as chief customer officer and chief financial officer, respectively.
•Designer Brands Inc. tapped Sarah Crockett as chief marketing officer of Designer Shoe Warehouse. Crockett joins the footwear giant from Nature’s Sunshine Products, where she served as global chief marketing officer.
•Nordstrom promoted Alexis DePree to COO. DePree, who joined Nordstrom in January 2020 as executive VP and chief supply chain officer, will continue to support supply chain operations, transportation, inventory operations, enterprise operations and store operations, but with an expanded title that "better reflects the breadth of the work these teams are doing," the company said in a statement.