C-SUITE

The chief marketing officer of J.C. Penney is leaving the company after two years on the job.   Mary Beth West is leaving the department store retailer on March 31 to become senior VP and chief growth officer of the Hershey Co. She will join Hershey on May 1.   West joined Penney in April 2015 after serving on the company’s board of directors for 10 years.   

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Mark Breitbard.     Gap Inc. on Tuesday named Breitbard as president and CEO of its struggling Banana Republic division.       Breitbard served as CEO at The Gymboree Corporation from 2013 until he stepped down in early 2017. From 2010 to 2013, he held leadership positions across Gap North America, where he was instrumental in delivering the product-led resurgence of Gap’s North America business.    

Albertsons on Friday appointed Jonathan Mayes to the post of senior VP external affairs and chief diversity officer. In his new role, he will head up the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts, as well as its government relationships, philanthropy and sustainability departments.   

Under Armour named Clay Dean as its chief innovation officer.   Dean will be responsible for driving the company's global vision and strategy for innovation, and cross-functional collaboration with the brand’s internal design, marketing, product, and category management teams. He will be based out of Under Armour's global headquarters in Baltimore, and will report to Kevin Haley, president, category management and innovation.  

Walgreens Boots Alliance on Friday named two executives to the chief marketing officer and chief merchandising officer positions, promoting Adam Holyk and Joe Hartsig, respectively, to those roles.   Both will assume their new roles as of April 1 and report to Alex Gourlay, co-COO for Walgreens Boots Alliance.  

There’s been a change at the top of teen apparel retailer Pacific Sunwear of California (PacSun).   Chief executive Gary Schoenfeld has departed the chain, which is owned by Golden Gate Capital. The news was first reported by shop-eat-surf.com   Schoenfeld had served as CEO of PacSun since 2009. No reason was given for his departure.   

A former executive at Gander Mountain has joined Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores.    The retailer has appointed Jeff Csuy as senior VP, general merchandise manager, fabric and sewing. He will report to Sharyn Hejcl, Jo-Anne’s executive VP, chief merchandising officer, as he “leads the fabric and sewing team to drive innovation while putting the customer first in all decisions,” Hejcl said.  

Lands’ End has a new person at the top.   Jerome Griffith has officially taken the reins as CEO of the company, and also joined the board of directors. He succeeds Joseph Boitano and James Gooch, who have served as co-interim CEOs since September 2016, when CEO Federica Marchionni was forced out after less than two years amid an ongoing sales slump.