Retail vet joins Talbots’ board

The Talbots announced that Michael Weiss, longtime CEO of Express, has joined the Talbots board of directors, effective Sept. 1, 2012.



Weiss held various leadership roles at Express, most recently serving from 2007 to 2015 as chairman, president and CEO. He joined Limited Brands in 1981 as the merchandise manager for an eight-store experimental division that became Express.



Weiss served as president of Express from 1982 to 1993 and took the division from virtually zero to $1 billion in annual sales in less than ten years. He left to become vice chairman of Limited Brands in 1993, and returned to Express in 1997 as president and CEO. He temporarily retired from the division in 2004 and returned in 2007, following the sale of Express to a private equity firm.



"Michael has long been viewed as one of the retail industry's most visionary, charismatic and inspiring leaders, and we are thrilled that he has agreed to join the Talbots' Board," said Lizanne Kindler, CEO of Talbots. "I am confident that my colleagues and I will benefit greatly from Michael's unique insights as we work to achieve our long-term goals."