True Religion taps former Levi’s exec as marketing chief
True Religion Apparel has appointed Mary Alderete as the company’s chief marketing officer. Alderete, who will report to CEO David Conn, will be charged with shaping the marketing strategy for True Religion across the company’s retail, wholesale, international and e-commerce platforms.
“Mary brings a strategic mindset to True Religion and will be the architect of our branding and marketing going forward,” said Conn. “We will benefit from her deep experience building iconic denim brands and from her genuine understanding of how to connect with and engage consumers. Mary is a natural fit with True Religion and will work closely with our leadership team to make True Religion culturally and personally relevant to customers.”
Alderete was previously VP of global brand marketing at Levi Strauss & Co. During her time at Levi’s, she created an innovative, multiyear marketing campaign leveraging digital platforms to engage consumers to personalize, share and amplify the brand narrative. Alderete was also responsible for the global launch of a proprietary fit system. Prior to her time at Levi’s, she held senior marketing roles at Gap, with Banana Republic and Old Navy. She has also held senior positions at marketing agencies, including BBDO West and Foote, Cone & Belding, where she led strategy and campaign development for brands such as Amazon.com, Kraft and Clorox.
“True Religion set the standard for premium denim by merging quality craftsmanship and iconic style, and I am eager to build on the brand’s DNA at such an exciting moment,” said Alderete. “I'm looking forward to collaborating with the leadership team, including the creative minds that helped to build the brand as well as the rush of new talent, to design the future of True Religion in a way that will make denim history.”
True Religion has also named Ilene Eskenazi as chief legal officer and SVP of human resources, effective Dec. 2. She will report to Conn. Eskenazi joins the company from Red Bull North America, where she served as general counsel and VP of human resources. She previously practiced law at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Proskauer Rose. She has a JD from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.
True Religion Apparel is a growing, design-based denim and denim-related sportswear brand. The company designs, manufactures and distributes True Religion Apparel products, including its premium True Religion Brand jeans, sportswear and licensed accessories. True Religion products may be found in the company's branded retail and outlet stores as well as contemporary department stores and boutiques in 50 countries on six continents. The company operates 148 stores in North America and more than 30 international stores.