Tiffany financial chief resigns

Tiffany’s chief financial officer, Patrick F. McGuiness, has resigned his position effective Nov. 27. The company’s EVP and chief operating officer, James Fernandez, will assume the position of CFO on an interim basis.



Fernandez has been with Tiffany’s since 1983. The board of Tiffany’s has authorized a search for a new CFO.



McGuiness, who joined Tiffany in 1990 as an analyst in accounting and reporting, received a severance package worth $899,000 and will also receive a prorated performance bonus for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2014. McGuiness will release any claims he might have against Tiffany as part of the severance agreement.



He held a variety of management positions within the company’s finance division, including as group VP of finance, and in merchandising from 2000 to 2002 as VP of merchandising process improvement. He was promoted to SVP of finance, responsible for Tiffany's worldwide financial functions, in 2007. In June 2011, McGuiness was promoted to SVP and CFO and was assigned responsibility for investor relations in addition to his responsibility for worldwide financial functions.