Former Vince CFO joins The Children's Place
The Children’s Place has made new leadership appointments, including an addition to its C-suite.
The specialty children’s apparel retailer has announced the appointment of John Szczepanski as chief financial officer, effective March 31, 2025. As CFO, Szczepanski will oversee finance, accounting, financial planning & analysis, tax, treasury, procurement, investor relations, internal audit and real estate.
Szczepanski most recently served as CFO of Vince Holding Corp., and will officially depart from the role on March 28 after more than a year with the company. Prior to that position, he spent more than 18 years in various roles at Ralph Lauren.
“Today marks an exciting new chapter for our company as we welcome John to be our CFO,” said Muhammad Umair, who was named interim CEO last spring following the departure of longtime CEO Jane Elfers. “During this critical time in our planning and implementation of new business strategies, John brings a wealth of finance experience in retail and manufacturing that will help guide us through our company’s future development. We are delighted to have him join our team as we continue to build strong and efficient business operations and drive a financial strategy that can lay the groundwork for the company’s long-term success.”
The Children’s Place also made two other recent leadership appointments. Kristin Clifford was named senior VP, head of sourcing, effective Feb. 3, and Smeeta Khetarpaul was named senior VP, head of marketing, effective Feb. 24. Both are reporting to Claudia Lima-Guinehut, brand president of The Children’s Place.
Clifford rejoined The Children’s Place from Vineyard Vines, where she most recently served as their senior VP of sourcing. She previously served as a VP of global sourcing at The Children’s Place until 2020.
Khetarpaul joins the company from Crocs Inc., where she served as a VP of marketing, leading marketing for North America and Brazil. She brings over two decades of marketing experience with beauty, consumer products and retail brands, including in marketing positions at Avon Products, Nestlé and Danone.
“We are so thrilled to publicly announce that Kristin and Smeeta have joined our team,” said Lima-Guinehut. “Kristin comes back to the company with extensive experience in direct-sourcing models and developing costing strategies that will help us to elevate our product offerings, by ensuring we are sourcing high-quality merchandise consistent with our brands at competitive prices. Smeeta will be leading our omni-channel strategy by delivering an integrated marketing approach that will elevate the positioning and relevance of our brands to drive growth across all channels.”
[READ MORE: Simon Property Group veteran joins exec team at The Children's Place]
Based in New Jersey, The Children's Place operates two digital storefronts, more than 500 stores in North America, wholesale marketplaces and distribution in 15 countries through six international franchise partners.
