As Burberry heightens efforts to rebuild its business, the company revealed a major leadership overhaul on Friday in tandem with the announcement of its upbeat first-quarter performance.
The UK luxury fashion company has welcomed its four regional presidents onto its executive committee with immediate effect. Claudia Kim (Asia Pacific), Frank van Loon (EMEIA), Josie Zhang (Greater China), and Laura Dubin-Wander (Americas) are now part of the firm’s senior decision-making team.
All four leaders will continue to oversee their respective geographies while taking on global strategic and operational planning as a member of the executive team. They all report directly to CEO Joshua Schulman.
Burberry announced the appointments as a strategic move to reunite leadership and customer engagement, highlighting its refocused emphasis on market-specific expertise and agility. The announcement also follows the company’s decision not to fill its now-vacant chief commercial officer position.
All four members of the new executive committee have significant luxury and fashion experience. Kim, who came to Burberry in 2018, was formerly responsible for Bluebell Korea’s portfolio of LVMH brands. Van Loon joined in 2020 from Tom Ford, where he was VP for EMEIA, and was in senior positions at Brunello Cucinelli. Zhang, a long-serving company veteran since 2016, was previously regional director at Christian Dior Couture. Dubin-Wander, who came on board last year, previously served as CEO of OTB Designer Brands Americas and held senior posts at Coach and Dior.
Schulman welcomed the quartet and said that this appointment recognises the invaluable contribution Claudia, Frank, Josie and Laura have made in building their global business and informing their decision-making through the voice of the customer. Their experience and insight will be valuable as they drive Burberry forward.
