Human Resources

New York City -- Aeropostale announced that, effective immediately, Thomas P. Johnson, co-CEO, has been named CEO. Mindy C. Meads, who has served as co-CEO along with Johnson since February 2010, will leave the company to pursue other interests. She will stay for a short period to ensure a smooth transition.

Tampa, Fla. -- RMC Property Group announced Tuesday it has hired David Gibson as retail services executive specializing in tenant representation.

Gibson previously worked with Equity and Grubb and Ellis.

The 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards program recognized retailers from across the nation. Several of the regional retail winners are profiled below.



Matt Rubel learned his craft at an early age. The 52-year-old chief of footwear giant Collective Brands Inc., parent to such brands as Payless ShoeSource, Stride Rite and Sperry Top-Sider, was introduced to retail by his parents.


“I worked in their stores growing up, starting at a very young age,” Rubel said. “I learned that I loved customers and their passion for shopping.”


Rubel has remained true to his early vocation. After graduating college in 1979, he started his career at the legendary Bonwit Teller in New York. From there, he went on to hold leadership positions at some of the nation’s most prominent retail brands. From 1999 to 2005, Rubel served as chairman, president and CEO of Cole Haan, a subsidiary of Nike, where he led a multi-year turnaround,

Bridgeview, Ill. -- Rose Paving Co., which provides complete parking-lot management solutions nationwide, has been named a Chicago Tribune Top Workplace for 2010 in the small-sized company category. One hundred companies, organizations, and agencies were honored at an awards ceremony on Nov. 9 hosted by the Chicago Tribune.

The awards, given for measured qualities including company leadership, career opportunities, workplace flexibility, and compensation & benefits were presented to Chicago-area companies for the very first time.

Mountain View, Calif. - A report released Tuesday by Intuit Inc. found that small business employment continued to show growth in November, although wages were down and hours worked remained flat.

According to Intuit’s Small Business Employment Index, small business employment grew by 0.24% in November, equating to an annual rate of about 3%. This translates to approximately 49,000 new jobs created nationwide. The Index is based on figures from the country’s smallest businesses that use Intuit Online Payroll.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. - Kohl's Corp. announced Tuesday that it is promoting four of its executives as part of an ongoing succession planning process.

Don Brennan has been promoted from senior EVP to chief merchandising officer. John Worthington was promoted from senior executive VP to chief administrative officer. Peggy Eskenasi was promoted from executive VP of product development to senior EVP. And Wes McDonald was promoted from EVP and CFO to senior executive VP and CFO.

All the promotions are effective Dec. 1.