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Signet Names Drosos CEO as Light Retires
Jul 17, 2017 9:13 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers has appointed Virginia Drosos as CEO to
replace Mark Light, who will retire at the end of the month.
Drosos (pictured), who will take over on August 1, has more than 29
years’ experience as an executive in the beauty and consumer-goods industries,
Signet said in a statement Monday. She previously served as CEO of Assurex
Health and president of global beauty care at Procter & Gamble. She has been
an independent director of Signet since 2012.
Light will leave Signet after 35 years at the company, having served as CEO
since 2014. He has decided to retire due to health reasons, the jewelry
retailer said.
Signet has gone from crisis to crisis in the past 18 months.
Allegations of diamond swapping and sexual harassment, as well as concerns
raised by James Grant’s influential investment newsletter about Signet’s credit
policy, drove the jeweler’s share price down 35% since a year ago. Sales
declined 5% in the fourth fiscal quarter to January 28, which included the
holiday season, and slumped 11% in the three months to April 29.
“Signet is well positioned to continue to drive its
unprecedented leadership in diamond jewelry and expand its market share in
growing categories, such as fashion jewelry,” Drosos said. “I am committed to
successfully executing our strategic priorities as we continue to transform
Signet to become a more innovative, digital-first and data-driven retailer
focused on delivering an outstanding omnichannel experience to customers.”
Signet chairman Todd Stitzer gave his backing to Drosos,
describing her as a “visionary and transformational leader with a proven track
record of growing and scaling global businesses through winning strategies and
innovation.”
The change is the latest reshuffle at the company, as it has been through two chief operating
officers since the start of 2017, with Ed Hrabak leaving, before his
replacement Bryan Morgan resigned last month due to violations of company
policy, Signet said. Two Signet veterans — chief merchandising officer Stuart
Lee and Clark McEwen, senior vice president of Signet Direct Diamond Sourcing —
retired in May. |
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Tags:
appointments, Assurex Health, Jewelry, Mark Light, Procter & Gamble, Rapaport News, retail, Signet, Signet Jewelers has, Virginia Drosos
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