Ascena Retail Group nabs new CFO

SUFFERN, N.Y. — Ascena Retail Group has named Dirk Montgomery as its new EVP and CFO.



Current EVP and CFO Armand Correia is retiring after 21 years with the specialty retailer, which offers clothing, shoes and accessories for missy and plus-size women and tween girls, under the Justice, Lane Bryant, Maurices, Dressbarn and Catherines brands.



Montgomery was most recently EVP and chief value chain officer of Bloomin’ Brands, which operates global restaurant brands Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, generating approximately $4 billion in annual revenues. Prior to that position, he served as CFO of Bloomin’ Brands for six years.



“On behalf of our entire organization, I’d like to personally thank Armand for his 21 years of service to Ascena. His stewardship was instrumental in delivering market-leading rates of growth and return for our shareholders, particularly over the last decade. We are excited to welcome Dirk to our team, and are confident that his leadership, expertise and experience will enable us to continue building upon this record of achievement,” said David Jaffe, president and CEO of Ascena.



Prior to joining Bloomin’ Brands in 2005, Mr. Montgomery served in a variety of domestic and international leadership roles in the areas of finance, procurement, strategic planning and operations in the retail and consumer products segments. This included significant experience in financial leadership roles such as CFO of the $9 billion Con Agra Foods Retail Group, as CFO of Express (previously a division of Limited Brands) and in several senior management positions with the Sara Lee Corporation.



Mr. Montgomery began his career at Ernst & Young as an auditor and corporate finance consultant. He has an undergraduate degree in accountancy from Miami University of Ohio, a CPA from the State of Ohio and an MBA from the University of Chicago with a concentration in finance and a specialization in policy.



“I am very excited to be joining Ascena and share the strong vision the Ascena team has to continue to grow the business and to further extend the company’s leadership position in the specialty retailing industry. I look forward to the work ahead, including completing the integration projects already underway and, more broadly, to sharing my experience and expertise in developing and implementing a thoughtful and strategic approach to growth and value creation in the years ahead,” said Montgomery.