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The retail C-suite changes to know about in August

Nestlé, Starbucks, and Estée Lauder were among many retailers and brands seeing high-profile CEO moves.
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Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photos: Getty Images

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Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know

Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.

If you could barely keep up with all the high-profile retail CEO switch-ups this August, we’ve got you covered. Here are the major executive shifts to know about:

  • Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider was ousted from his role, which he’s held since 2017, and was replaced by Laurent Freixe. Schneider was given just 24 hours’ notice before the change was announced, per The Wall Street Journal.
  • Starbucks selected Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol to replace Laxman Narasimhan as its new CEO. Niccol will be a supercommuter—using Starbucks’ corporate plane to travel 1,000 miles from his California home to its headquarters in Seattle.
  • Estée Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda, who’s led the beauty giant for around 15 years, will retire from his role next year. His successor has yet to be named.
  • Party City named Barry Litwin its president and CEO. Litwin most recently served as CEO of Global Industrial Company, and has held exec roles at Sears and Office Depot.
  • Savage X Fenty CEO Hillary Super left the lingerie brand to become chief executive at Victoria’s Secret, taking over from Martin Waters.
  • Diane Von Furstenberg tapped Graziano de Boni as its new CEO, filling the spot Gabby Hirata vacated in June 2023. A former Armani and Prada exec, de Boni joined DVF last October to lead product and brand strategy.
  • Under Armour’s chief consumer officer, Jim Dausch, will depart after a year at the brand. The company will add former Adidas executive Eric Liedtke as EVP of brand strategy, having acquired Unless Collective, the regenerative fashion brand he founded in 2020.
  • Walgreens added two new execs, naming Party City chief merchant Tracey Koller its chief merchandising officer, and Sharmila Sudhakar, Tailored Brands VP and GM of North American e-commerce for Men’s Wearhouse and Moores, as head of digital commerce.
  • Mattel brought on Sai Koorapati as its new chief technology officer. Koorapati was previously SVP of global IT at Topgolf Callaway Brands.

+1: Speculation is swirling that Nike CEO John Donahoe, who’sheld the role since 2020, could be the next retail CEO on the chopping block amid alleged pressure from activist investors and analysts to oust him.

Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know

Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.