COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 23,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE: DBI)
(the "Company" and "Designer Brands"), one of the world's largest
designers, producers and retailers of the most recognizable
footwear and accessories, today announced two new appointments to
its Board of Directors.
On November 17, 2022, Rich Paul and Tami J.
Fersko were appointed to the Designer Brands Board of
Directors as independent directors, effective immediately. Ms.
Fersko was also named a member of both the Audit Committee and the
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Following these
appointments, the Board now has eleven members, eight of whom are
independent.
"As Designer Brands continues the next phase of its growth, I am
thrilled to have Rich and Tami join our Board," said Jay Schottenstein, Chairman of the Board. "Both
bring extensive brand-building expertise and knowledge of the
footwear industry to the table, competencies that will help us on
our path to doubling sales of our Owned Brands. Rich's place at the
epicenter of culture as well as his vast knowledge of the sports
industry will complement our athletic and athleisure strategy,
while helping to continue attracting new and different consumers to
Designer Brands. Additionally, Tami's broad background in supply
chain and operations will reinforce our efforts to be nimble and
agile as we seek to consistently provide the best brands in
footwear."
"I am excited that Designer Brands is adding Rich and Tami's
expertise to our Board," said Roger
Rawlins, Chief Executive Officer of Designer Brands. "They
bring a wealth of experience in areas directly applicable to our
brand building journey and I look forward to working with them as
we move this vision forward."
Rich Paul is the CEO
and founder of KLUTCH Sports Group, the powerhouse agency
representing some of the biggest athletes across major professional
sports. Paul founded KLUTCH Sports in 2012 in his hometown of
Cleveland, Ohio, where he forged a
unique and personal approach to representing top NBA talent –
putting athletes first and empowering them to build careers and
brands on and off the court. Paul also serves as United Talent
Agency's (UTA's) Head of Sports and is an agency partner, and was
appointed to UTA's Board of Directors in 2020.
In 2019, Paul was named GQ's "PowerBroker of the Year" and "The
King Maker" on the cover of Sports Illustrated. In 2021, TIME
recognized KLUTCH Sports on its first-ever list of TIME100 Most
Influential Companies, and Variety recently named Paul to their
"Variety500" list of the most influential business leaders shaping
the global media industry. Paul is also credited with driving the
reversal of the so-called "Rich Paul
Rule," which would have banned agents without a college
degree from representing NCAA student athletes.
In 2021, Paul and three former Nike executives formed a company
called ADOPT, a creative agency focused on sport, wellness,
nutrition, tech and other consumer facing products. Paul joined the
Board of Trustees of LACMA and the Board of Directors of Funko in
2022. Paul is also a minority partner of The SpringHill
Company.
Tami J. Fersko currently
serves as the Chief Operations and Supply Chain Officer for Centric
Brands, a global leading lifestyle brand collective. Previously,
Ms. Fersko served as President, LF Americas, a division of Li &
Fung Limited, a $10 billion dollar
Hong Kong based global supply
chain corporation encompassing dual-gender, multi-classification
private label portfolio servicing department store, mass, club, and
off-price channels. The scope of her responsibilities spanned
sales, design, merchandising, sourcing, operations, finance, and
licensing/M&A. Her key accounts included Walmart, Costco,
Target, Land's End, Macy's, Kohl's and Amazon. Ms. Fersko managed a
team of 250 professionals across six countries.
Prior to her role at Li & Fung, Ms. Fersko was the Executive
Vice President, Finance and Operations of The Jones Group, where
she managed a team of more than 100 finance and operations
professionals, and was responsible for management reporting,
M&A/divestitures, five-year strategic plan, annual budgeting
process, monthly forecasting, retail planning/allocation, inventory
purchasing controls, and licensee contract negotiations.
Ms. Fersko is a graduate of State
University of New York at Buffalo.
About Designer Brands
Designer Brands is one of the world's largest designers,
producers and retailers of the most recognizable footwear brands
and accessories, transforming and defining the footwear industry by
inspiring self-expression across every facet of its enterprise.
Through its portfolio of world-class owned brands, led by the
industry-setting Vince Camuto brand, Designer Brands delivers
on-trend footwear and accessories through its robust
direct-to-consumer omni-channel infrastructure, featuring a
billion-dollar digital commerce business and nearly 650 stores
across the U.S. and Canada. Its
retailing operations under the DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and The
Shoe Company banners deliver current, in-line footwear and
accessories from most of the largest national brands in the
industry and hold leading market share positions in key product
categories across Women's, Men's and Kid's in the U.S. and
Canada. Designer Brands also
distributes its owned brands through select wholesale relationships
while leveraging its design and sourcing expertise to build private
label product for national retailers. Designer Brands is also
committed to being a difference maker in the world, taking steps
forward to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the footwear
industry and supporting our global community and the health of our
planet through donating more than six million pairs of shoes to the
global non-profit Soles4Souls. More information can be found at
www.designerbrands.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Certain statements in this press release may constitute
forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of
forward-looking words such as "outlook," "could," "believes,"
"expects," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should,"
"would," "seeks," "approximately," "predicts," "intends," "plans,"
"estimates," "anticipates," or the negative version of those words
or other comparable words. These statements are based on the
Company's current views and expectations and involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause
actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially
different from any future results, performance, or achievements
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These
factors include, but are not limited to: risks and uncertainties
related to the ongoing coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic, any
future COVID-19 resurgence, and any other adverse public health
developments; risks that recent inflationary pressures, including
higher freight costs, could have on our results of operations and
customer demand based on pricing actions and operating measures
taken to mitigate the impact of inflation; uncertain general
economic conditions, including inflation and supply chain
pressures, domestic and global political and social conditions and
the potential impact of geopolitical turmoil or conflict, and the
related impacts to consumer discretionary spending; our ability to
execute on our long-term strategic plans; our ability to anticipate
and respond to fashion trends, consumer preferences, and changing
customer expectations; our ability to maintain strong relationships
with our vendors, manufacturers, licensors, and retailer customers;
risks related to losses or disruptions associated with our
distribution systems, including our distribution centers and
fulfillment center and stores, whether as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic, reliance on third-party providers, or otherwise; our
reliance on our loyalty programs and marketing to drive traffic,
sales, and customer loyalty; risks related to cyber security
threats and privacy or data security breaches or the potential loss
or disruption of our information systems; our ability to
protect our reputation and to maintain the brands we license; our
competitiveness with respect to style, price, brand availability,
and customer service; risks related to our international
operations, including international trade, our reliance on foreign
sources for merchandise, exposure to political, economic,
operational, and compliance and other risks, and fluctuations in
foreign currency exchange rates; our ability to comply with privacy
laws and regulations, as well as other legal
obligations; risks associated with climate change and other
corporate responsibility issues; and uncertainties related to
future legislation, regulatory reform, policy changes, or
interpretive guidance on existing legislation. Risks and other
factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially
from our forward-looking statements are described in the Company's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022 and in our other filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking
statements speak only as of the time when made. Except as may be
required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or
revise the forward-looking statements included in this press
release to reflect any future events or circumstances.
![Tami J. Fersko Tami J. Fersko](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1954017/Tami_Fersko.jpg)
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SOURCE Designer Brands Inc.