Former Disney exec named PacSun CFO

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- A former Disney executive has been tasked with overseeing the financial performance of Pacific Sunwear of California, a retailer which recently reported a 7% decline in same-store sales and a net loss of $35 millionfor its 2010 fourth quarter.

The company announced that Michael Kaplan will join the company as SVP and CFO, effective May 2. He will be replacing Mike Henry who became interim CFO in November 2007 and was named CFO in January 2008.

"Michael is a highly regarded, operations-oriented financial executive with extensive experience in a number of critical areas including inventory management, cost control, real estate and store labor," said Gary Schoenfeld, president and CEO. "His 16 years at Disney and five years combined as CFO of the Gap Outlet division and then CFO/SVP for Banana Republic gives him an excellent background for joining PacSun and rounding out the executive team that we have been building over the past year and a half."

Most recently, Kaplan was CFO of Harbor Freight Tools, a privately held 349-store retailer of proprietary branded tools. Prior to joining Harbor Freight Tools in 2010, he was a senior executive of Gap Inc. from 2005 to 2010. From 1989 to 2005, he held various financial positions with The Walt Disney Company including VP financial planning and control for the Disneyland resort division from 2001 to 2005.

Pacific Sunwear currently operates 828 stores in 50 states and Puerto Rico.