Leadership shakeup as longtime Build-A-Bear CEO to take reins at Carter’s
The CEO of the country’s largest apparel company exclusively for babies and young children is out after 13 months on the job.
Carter’s Inc. named Sharon Price John as CEO and president, effective June 15. In connection with her appointment, Carter’s said that CEO and president Douglas C. Palladini has left the company, effective immediately. Palladini, a former Vans executive, has served as CEO since April 3, 2025.
John will join Carter’s from Build-A-Bear Workshop, which she had led for 13 years. In March, the company announced that John would step down on June 11, succeeded by chief operations and experience officer Chris Hurt.
During her time at Build-A-Bear, John is credited with diversying the company's business model beyond traditional malls, growing e-commerce with an integrated omnichannel focus, expanding the company’s addressable market to gifting and collectors and extending the brand into content-led marketing. In 2025, Build-A-Bear delivered its fifth consecutive year of record results in 2025.
Richard F. Westenberger has been appointed interim CEO and president in addition to his responsibilities as CFO and COO. He will serve in the added role until John joins Carter’s in June.
"Sharon has a distinguished track record as a public company CEO and brings substantial and relevant experience in the children's space,” said Gretchen W. Schar, incoming non-executive chair of Carter’s board. "Her success in revitalizing Build-A-Bear gives us confidence in her ability to accelerate the work underway at Carter's and leverage the power of our iconic brands to drive sustainable growth and shareholder value creation. Carter’s is showing solid momentum and we believe Sharon is the perfect fit to lead the company into the future.”
Prior to joining Build-A-Bear, John held a number of executive positions, including president of Stride Rite children's group, general manager and senior VP of Hasbro's global Playskool business. She also worked at Mattel as the VP of international marketing for the Disney business unit and as a director of the Barbie brand.
“For over 160 years, Carter’s has been a trusted resource as generations of young parents have made this brand their first choice in clothing for the many amazing moments in the life of a child,” John said. “I am delighted to be joining a company with such a proud history and honored to be entrusted with leading it forward at this pivotal moment. “We will remain focused on ensuring that Carter’s continues to meet the evolving needs of today’s families and caregivers.”
Carter’s core brands are Carter’s and OshKosh B’gosh, which it sells at more than 1,000 company-operated stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
