Tapestry CEO Jide Zeitlin Resigns

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Tapestry, Inc. chairman and CEO Jide Zeitlin has resigned, the parent to Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman announced today.

Zeitlin said his resignation was “for personal reasons.” Appointed to the chief post on an interim basis in fall 2019, Zeitlin said in March that he planned to stay in the roles of chairman and CEO for the next three years. Over the past 14 years, he served in numerous roles at Tapestry and predecessor Coach Inc., first as a director before being named chairman in November 2014 and CEO last fall.

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“It has been a privilege to lead Tapestry with its powerful brands and outstanding people. I have incredible belief in the Company’s growth potential as each brand sharpens its focus on meeting the broad and diverse needs of their consumers,” Zeitlin said in a statement.

Amid renewed national conversation about diversity and inclusion following the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, Zeitlin — one of just four Black CEOs on the Fortune 500 — had been making inroads on D&I at Tapestry.

“Our team at Tapestry wants to collaborate with a number of social justice, legal, and corporate entities to develop and support longer-term plans for addressing systemic inequality,” he told FN last month. “Inequality in health, economic opportunity, public safety, and other sectors, and we’re taking the first steps along these lines. We hope to join with government, but events of this past week make it clear that we cannot wait.”

In the past few months, Tapestry Inc. has seen a number of high-profile executive exits. Coach CEO and president Josh Schulman announced his departure in March In February, Tapestry named Liz Fraser CEO of Kate Spade. She replaced Anna Bakst, who left the company at the end of 2019. At Stuart Weitzman, Giorgio Sarné is now leading the charge after the departure of CEO and brand president Eraldo Poletto this year.

Coinciding with Zeitlin’s departure, the company has announced a series of interim appointments. CFO Joanne Crevoiserat has been named interim Tapestry CEO. President, chief administrative officer and company secretary Todd Kahn will serve as interim CEO and brand president of Coach. Global head of investor relations and corporate communications Andrea Shaw Resnick has been appointed interim CFO, and lead independent director Susan Kropf has been made chair of the board of directors. The company will commence a search for a permanent CEO, looking at internal and external candidates.

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