As its takeover of Neiman Marcus Group approaches its first anniversary, a leadership shakeup continues at Saks Global. The company formed following the December acquisition of Saks Fifth Avenue’s rival for $2.7 billion.
A series of longtime executives have since marched out the door. Most recently, Chief Operating Officer Rob Brooks has left and the responsibilities of his position are being incorporated into other roles. Chief Transformation Officer Bill Bine will also leave, with much of the merger’s integration work having been accomplished; otherwise his duties will also be taken on by others.
Other executives who left Saks Global this year include John Antonini, senior vice president of accelerated store growth, a newly created role; longtime stores veteran Larry Bruce, who spent years at both Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus; merchant James Newell, who joined Bloomingdale’s earlier this month; and merchant Will Cooper, who had spent two decades at Saks Fifth Avenue. The company has also instigated a series of layoffs since last year, when plans to merge the luxury department stores were first announced.
It’s difficult to know whether any of these executives opted to leave or were let go, and some amount of turnover is expected in the first year after an acquisition. In a statement, Saks Global said it reflects the headway it’s made this year.
“We have made significant progress on our integration plans and on a much faster timeline than anticipated,” a spokesperson said by email. “As part of this process, we determined that with a simplified leadership structure we will be able to more efficiently execute on our transformation strategy, which centers on advancing the customer experience, strengthening our brand partner relationships, and improving our financial performance.”
But this much coming and going is unusual, experts say.
“When a company is doing a merger and acquisition — and as a consultant, this is something that we often help with — it’s called transformation,” Glenn McMahon, managing partner at MAC Advisory and Consulting, said by phone. “Generally speaking, there’s a due diligence process, and you identify key performers ahead of time. So it’s a little bit weird to have people leave this quickly after. I’m going to put the blame on Saks Global for not doing a very good vetting process.”
Or the executives themselves may have decided not to stay, he said.
Some departures are especially surprising, notably that of Saks Global President and Chief Commercial Officer Emily Essner, according to Mark Cohen, a retail veteran who previously ran retail studies at Columbia Business School.
Essner left the company last week, just a few months after her role was expanded and days after she announced a new support program for high-powered salespeople. She spent about 13 years of her career at Saks Fifth Avenue, leaving briefly in 2013 before returning to spend a decade at Saks Fifth Avenue in various roles, more than four of them as chief marketer. When the Saks-Neiman Marcus deal closed in December, she took on a newly created position of president and chief commercial officer.
The shakeup isn’t just about departures, and there are various reasons why executives might want to join a company, even if it seems to be in turmoil, McMahon and Cohen say.
Kim Miller, who was president of Saks Off 5th, will take on the newly created role of chief customer officer, reporting to Saks Global CEO Marc Metrick. She will lead all customer-facing channels for Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus and some responsibilities at Bergdorf Goodman.
The company has also enticed two Bloomingdale’s executives to jump on board. Matt Dunphy, who spent 16 years at Bloomingdale’s in various leadership roles, most recently as regional director of stores for the Northeast and Midwest regions, has been named senior vice president of store growth and experiences at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
And Christina DeGrezia, who was senior director and general manager of Bloomingdale’s Manhattan flagship and before that spent nearly a decade in leadership roles at the nearby Saks Fifth Avenue flagship, has been named vice president and general manager at that Saks location.