Stovall joins Stein Mart as president and ceo

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Stein Mart has appointed David Stovall, Jr. as president and ceo of the company. Stovall has been a Belk executive for more than 20 years, most recently as chairman of Belk Central Division in Charlotte, N.C.

Stovall succeeds Linda Farthing, longtime Stein Mart board member who has held the president and ceo position since September 2007, but announced earlier this fall that a search for her successor had begun.

"David has a solid history of executive management over both store operations and merchandise, and most recently oversaw the integration of Belk's two largest acquisitions," commented Jay Stein, chairman of the board of Stein Mart. "With his leadership, we will build on the initiatives begun during the past year to help transform Stein Mart into the revitalized company that our customers and our stockholders are eager to see us become. I am personally very excited about this hire."