C-SUITE

Gordmans Stores named Ramin Mozafari as senior VP of planning and allocation.   Mozafari joins Gordmans from Kohl's Department Stores, where he most recently was senior VP, divisional merchandise manager for accessories. Prior to Kohl's, from 2008 to 2012, he served DSW, where he held various merchandising roles including VP, general merchandise manager.  

With plans to expand to some 600 stores, At Home Group Inc. has appointed a chief operating officer and expanded its board with a Gap Inc. veteran.    The retailer, which currently operates 123 stores, said it promoted chief stores officer Peter Corsa to COO. Corsa, who joined the company in 2013, will continue to be responsible for store operations, loss prevention, distribution and logistics in addition to assuming oversight of inventory planning and allocation.  

Family-owned and operated Meijer is getting a new CEO — and for the first time in the retailer’s 82-year history, it’s not a family member.   Effective January 1, 2017, Rick Keyes, president of Meijer, will add the title of CEO. He will replace Hank Meijer, who is stepping down as chief executive and will serve as executive chairman of the board.  

CNBC nabbed the first interview with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and COO Kevin Johnson since Schultz announced he would step down in April, and be succeeded by Johnson.   

Howard Schultz is leaving his post as CEO of the company he built into a global coffee empire, but he’s not retiring.   Schultz will step down as CEO of Starbucks Corp. on April 3, at which time he will be appointed executive chairman and shift his focus to the company’s new upscale initiatives — the design and development of Starbucks Reserve Roasteries around the world and the expansion of the Starbucks Reserve retail store format — along with its social impact programs.     

HSN, Inc. has appointed Rod Little as CFO, effective January 3, 2017.   Most recently, Little served as executive VP and CFO of Elizabeth Arden, where he led the company’s global finance and IT organizations and was instrumental in a turnaround that restored revenue growth and profitability, ultimately resulting in the company’s sale to Revlon.  Prior to that, Little was CFO for Procter & Gamble’s multi-billion dollar global salon professional division.   

Kirkland's has named its very first COO.    The home décor retailer named Mike Cairnes as executive VP and COO, effective November 28, 2016.   Cairnes brings 25 years of experience in home décor retailing and manufacturing to Kirkland's. He was most recently with Michael's Stores, where he served concurrently as president of its Aaron's Brothers retail business, since 2015, and president of its Artistree framing business, since 2007.    

The president of Office Depot’s North American operations is stepping down.   Marc Crosby is leaving the company “to pursue other opportunities,” according to the Sun Sentinel, which cited a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. No date was given for his departure.