Coldwater completes reorganization of Product and Merchandising Areas

25 Jan '11

3 min read

Coldwater Creek Inc announced that Jill Brown Dean has been appointed President and Chief Merchandising Officer. Ms. Dean will join Coldwater Creek on February 14, 2011 and succeed Georgia Shonk Simmons who previously announced her intention to retire.

The Company also announced that Jerome Jessup, currently Executive Vice President, Creative Director, has been promoted to President and Chief Creative Officer. Both Ms. Dean and Mr. Jessup will report directly to Dennis Pence, co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Coldwater Creek.

Ms. Dean joins Coldwater Creek with over 25 years of retail and merchandising experience in the specialty retail sector. She has held numerous leadership roles throughout her career, most recently as President of the Limited Too division of Tween Brands. Prior to that, Ms. Dean spent 18 years with Limited Brands serving as Executive Vice President, General Manager for Victoria's Secret flagship stores as well as President and Chief Executive Officer of Lane Bryant. Ms. Dean began her career at Limited Brands in merchandising for the Express division.

Jill Brown Dean said, "I am excited to join Coldwater Creek, as I believe the Company has a strong heritage, a terrific team, and significant growth potential. I look forward to working with the Coldwater Creek team to provide our customers with relevant and appealing offerings that build upon our heritage and position the Company to drive consistent sales growth and improved performance."

"We are extremely pleased to welcome Jill to the Coldwater Creek team. Jill joins Coldwater Creek at a pivotal point in the Company's history. She is a seasoned merchant with extensive retail experience and a proven track record of success in building and repositioning consumer brands," said Dennis Pence.

"We are also pleased to announce Jerome's promotion to President and Chief Creative Officer. Since joining Coldwater Creek, he has updated and elevated the brand through our new creative initiatives, and we believe that the changes he is making to the design and development of our product are moving the Company in the right direction."

Mr. Pence continued, "On behalf of the Board and the Company, we thank Georgia for her many contributions to this organization over the past 12 years. She was instrumental in building the Coldwater Creek brand and in growing the business to over $1 billion in revenue. We will miss her immensely and wish her well in her retirement."

"With these changes to our leadership team, we have now completed the reorganization of the Merchandising and Design areas of Coldwater Creek. I am confident in our new team and look forward to seeing the results of the changes we have made in the months to come," Mr. Pence concluded.

Coldwater Creek is a leading specialty retailer of women's apparel, gifts, jewelry, and accessories that was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Sandpoint, Idaho.

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