Breitbard returns to Gap Inc. as Old Navy chief merchant

SAN FRANCISCO Gap Inc. announced today that Mark Breitbard will return to the company as chief merchandising and creative officer - leading design and merchandising functions for Old Navy. He will report directly to Tom Wyatt, president of Old Navy.

“Mark is an amazingly talented retailer —and we’re thrilled he’s joining us to infuse an even higher level of creative spirit to the Old Navy brand,” said Wyatt.  “Both within Gap Inc. and at other top specialty apparel retailers, he has achieved success creating clothes for each member of our target customer’s family.

Breitbard joins Old Navy from Levi Strauss & Co, where he was president of the retail division since 2007.  He was responsible for all aspects of Levi’s retail division, including design, merchandising, marketing, stores and ecommerce. Previously, he was SVP and general manager at Abercrombie and Fitch, where he had responsibility for all aspects of launching its RUEHL brand, from design concept through store presentation.

For eight-years, from 1997 to 2005, Breitbard held key merchandising roles within each of Gap Inc.’s brands. During this time, he quickly rose through the ranks – through a variety of merchandising roles at Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic -- ultimately serving as a SVP.