Human Resources

Fort Wayne, Ind. - Vera Bradley has hired industry veteran-and former Saks executive— Harry Cunningham as head of store development, effective December 8, 2014.

Cunningham has nearly 25 years of experience in store design and visual  merchandising. He has been with Saks Fifth Avenue since 2006, most recently as senior VP of store planning, design and visual merchandising.

Prior to that, he held various visual merchandising roles of increasing responsibility with Liz Claiborne, Saks Department Store Group and Dillard's.

New York City - Brixmor Property Group announced the hiring of Chardell Steves and Jerry Teitelbaum as VPs of Strategic Leasing for the West and North regions, respectively. Both seasoned mall leasing professionals, Steves joins Brixmor from General Growth Properties and Teitelbaum joins from Taubman Centers.

Houston - JLL has appointed Naveen Jaggi as president of JLL Americas Retail Brokerage. Jaggi comes to JLL from CBRE, where he was a senior managing director of Retail Services.

In his new role at JLL, Jaggi will oversee more than 100 brokers, spanning 25 major markets, who serve the firm’s 500 retail owner and occupier clients. Jaggi is also tasked with creating deeper integration, collaboration and consistency across the Americas retail platform and globally.

New York - The City Council of Chiago has approved a boost in the minimum wage, gradually raising it to $13 an hour by 2019. The vote was pushed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel faces a reelection vote in February.

The plan raises Illinois' $8.25 rate – which is $1 higher than the federal rate – in small increments. It will get raised to $10 next year, and then increase by amounts of of 50 cents and $1. City officials estimate more than 400,000 Chicago workers will benefit.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart reportedly plans to improve efficiency in its China operation by eliminating 250 jobs, and also open nine new stores and a new distribution center in China by the end of 2014. According to Bloomberg, the positions that will be cut are mostly marketing and merchandising roles, along with some cuts in departments including tax and asset protection.

Few people in the food industry know the name Denzel McGuire, but that’s about to change as she just became the industry’s best friend in the nation’s capital.

McGuire has been named EVP of government relations at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which is a big deal considering the food industry is under relentless pressure and regulatory scrutiny. GMA needs a strong voice and a connected presence in the nation’s capital to represent the interests of its members and McGuire fits the bill on both fronts, according to GMA President and CEO Pam Bailey.

St. Petersburg, Fla. - HSN Inc. has named Jeffrey Kuster as president of Cornerstone and executive officer of HSNi. Kuster, 48, has held various leadership positions in the apparel, fashion and retail industries, most recently as executive VP, chief marketing and strategy officer for Berkshire Hathaway's Fruit of the Loom.  

Mooresville, N.C. – Lowe’s Companies Inc. will open three new stores in Canada, starting with a 94,500-sq.-ft. store in Lethbridge, Alberta in spring 2015. Lowe’s also plans to open an 86,000-sq.-ft. store in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and a 75,000-sq.-ft. store in Saulte Ste. Marie, Ontario.