Dive Brief:
- Tailored Brands hired Brandy Richardson as its new chief financial officer, effective Nov. 8, according to a press release.
- Richardson previously served as CFO and executive vice president at luxury department store chain Neiman Marcus, which, like Tailored Brands, went through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.
- At Tailored, she will oversee the finance organization, sit on the executive committee and have responsibility for enterprise analytics, strategy, real estate, risk management and loss prevention.
Dive Insight:
Former Tailored Brands CFO Jack Calandra left the company last July. Weeks later, the retailer filed for Chapter 11 amid the apparel challenges wrought by the pandemic. Since then, the retailer has emerged from bankruptcy, run into severe liquidity issues — raising the risk of a second bankruptcy and even liquidation — before receiving an emergency loan from a major shareholder that caused dismay among a group of indirect shareholders.
Since May, the company has made a series of executive appointments, including a new chief technology officer. Also among the recent hires are former chief merchant at J.C. Penney John Tighe as Tailored Brand's chief customer officer, Nike vet Karla Gray as chief stores officer, and former Lowe's executive Tim Cooksey as senior vice president of real estate.
Tailored Brands, which owns the Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank banners, is currently operating without a permanent chief executive. After former CEO Dinesh Lathi stepped down in March, board members Bob Hull and Peter Sachse have been running the company as co-CEOs.
Richardson, who played a key role in Neiman's Chapter 11 and reorganization, brings 15 years of experience from the luxury retailer. She joins at a critical period for Tailored Brands as it tries to engineer a turnaround in a menswear space that is much better off than in 2020 but still faces plenty of uncertainty in the years ahead.
"Brandy joins us at a time when we are well-positioned to accelerate our business strategies, delivering for our customers and positioning each of our brands — and the teams that support them — for long-term success," Hull said in a press release. "Brandy brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in managing a portfolio of companies, increasing liquidity, improving capital allocation and driving value creation."
