Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. appointed Mark Tritton as CEO and president, effective Nov. 4. He succeeds the home goods retailer’s interim CEO Mary Winston, who will continue to serve on the Board of Directors. Bed Bath & Beyond is No. 68 in the Internet Retailer 2019 Top 1000.
Tritton has more than 30 years of experience in the retail industry. Most recently, he served as executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at Target Corp. (No. 16) for more than three years, where he revived the retailer’s existing private-label brands and launched more than 30 brands in two-and-a-half years.
In addition, he was president of Nordstrom Product Group, which manages more than 50 private-label brands across Nordstrom Inc. (No. 18), Nordstrom.com, Nordstrom Rack and NordstromRack.com. He also held positions at footwear retailers Timberland (owned by VF Corp., No. 87) and Nike Inc. (No. 33).
“Mark’s ability to re-define the retail experience and drive growth at some of the world’s most successful retailers and brands makes him uniquely equipped to lead Bed Bath & Beyond during this critical time in our evolution,” said Patrick R. Gaston, Bed Bath & Beyond’s Chairman of the Board in a press release. “As an integral contributor to Target’s impressive transformation, we will benefit from his vision, leadership and creativity to successfully transform our business.”
At Bed Bath & Beyond, Tritton’s focus will be on improving the omnichannel experience, enhancing the retailer’s merchandise assortment, among other tasks, the retailer says.
In other ecommerce news:
- Kohl’s Corp. (No. 24) announced that Bruce Besanko, the retailer’s chief financial officer, has decided to retire from Kohl’s and step down from his position, effective Nov. 1. Kohl’s executive vice president of finance Jill Timm will then be promoted to his position, where she will oversee Kohl’s financial planning and analysis, investor relations and accounting operations.
- Gap Inc. (No. 28) appointed Mary Beth Laughton as president and CEO of Athleta. “Mary Beth brings a strong background in digital operations, a keen understanding of customers and an ability to deliver innovative experiences,” said Gap’s CEO Art Peck. “She is the right leader for Athleta, with a proven track record in driving consistent results in multiple growth markets, including performance apparel and beauty.” Most recently, Laughton served as executive vice president of omni retail for stores and digital at Sephora (owned by LVMH, No. 20), as well as a number of digital roles at the cosmetics retailer for more than seven years. She also worked at Nike in a number of ecommerce-related roles for nine years.
- Luxury women’s apparel retailer Moda Operandi (No. 210) hired Arpan Nanavati as chief technology officer, in which he will oversee the online merchant’s global technology strategy. Prior to joining Moda Operandi, Nanavati worked at Walmart Labs, Walmart Inc.’s (No. 3) technology and innovation division, where he led technology for the retailer’s online grocery division and was responsible for scaling the technology platform, its ominchannel operations and its team. He also worked as software engineering manager at payment company PayPal Inc.
- Dave Lewis, CEO of British grocery retailer Tesco Stores (No. 4 in the Internet Retailer Europe 500), stepped down from his role. Lewis said he’s leaving for personal reasons and doesn’t have another job lined up. Under Lewis, Tesco has streamlined its store operations, cutting thousands of jobs and closing fresh-food counters in some U.K. outlets while starting a discount brand called Jack’s. Ken Murphy, who currently works at Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (No. 43 in the Top 1000), will be filling Tesco’s CEO role in summer 2020. Murphy also worked at Procter & Gamble Co. and Boots U.K. & Ireland before rising to chief commercial officer and president of global brands at Walgreens. “We wanted a combination of experience, proven leadership in international retail businesses, a strong strategic mind,” said Tesco Chairman John Allan.