J.Jill names first chief growth officer
Women’s apparel retailer J.Jill has appointed a retail veteran to a newly-created C-suite position.
The company has named Viv Rettke as its first chief growth officer, effective immediately. In the new role, Rettke will be responsible for direct channel performance, work closely with the senior leadership team to define and lead a "holistic growth" strategy aligning brand, marketing, and direct and retail sales channels. She will also oversee J.Jill’s AI initiatives.
Rettke most recently served as chief strategy and transformation officer at Cole Haan for more than three and a half years, where she was credited with developing and leading an enterprise-wide strategy that evolved the company’s positioning from a men’s dress shoe brand to a dual-gender global lifestyle brand.
“We are thrilled to welcome Viv Rettke to the J.Jill team as our first chief growth officer,” said Mary Ellen Coyne, CEO and president of J.Jill. “She has a proven ability to accelerate business growth at leading companies in fashion and other consumer industries. We’re confident her deep expertise across brand building, corporate strategy, business transformation, and retail sales and operations will help us realize the untapped potential to expand our customer file and unlock new efficiencies and market opportunities.”
Prior to Cole Haan, Rettke spent more than three years at Reebok in the role of head of transformation, where she was responsible for digital sales acceleration, profit improvement, icon launches and fashion strategy. She had previously held a series of roles of increasing responsibility at Kraft Heinz, and was a consultant with Boston Consulting Group prior to that.
“I’m honored to join J.Jill and work with Mary Ellen Coyne and the company’s talented leadership team to help drive its next phase of growth,” said Rettke. “I look forward to honoring the brand’s strong legacy while advancing a comprehensive strategy that aims to strengthen and sharpen our competitive position, expand our reach, and leverage data analytics and innovation – including AI – to deliver sustainable, profitable growth.”
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Headquartered outside of Boston, J.Jill operates more than 200 stores nationwide along with its e-commerce website.
