ON BOARD: American Eagle Outfitters on Thursday said LeAnn Nealz will join the company in early June as executive vice president and chief design officer, confirming a WWD report. In the newly created position, Nealz will be responsible for men’s and women’s design and report to Roger Markfield, president and vice chairman. She has more than 20 years of design experience at Gap, Theory, Banana Republic and Calvin Klein. Most recently, Nealz was senior vice president of design for BabyGap and GapKids.
COLE SEES BONUS SLIDE: Kenneth Cole, chairman and chief executive officer of Kenneth Cole Productions Inc., had his bonus drop to $1 million in 2003 from $2.2 million in 2002, according to a proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cole’s annual salary remained unchanged at $1 million. Paul Blum, president of the company, which is based in New York, kept a yearly salary of $600,000, but his bonus fell to $350,000 in 2003 from $756,000 in 2002. Both Blum and Cole serve on the compensation committee, according to the filing.
Related Galleries
UPBIN DRESSED FOR SUCCESS: Dress For Success presented Kellwood Co.’s chairman and chief executive officer Hal Upbin with the Success Is Working award Tuesday night at the Marriott Marquis on Times Square in Manhattan. Over the last three years, Kellwood has given more than $250,000 in monetary and product donations to the not-for-profit organization, which helps low-income women get into the workforce with advice and suits for interviews. James Berrien, president of Forbes Magazine Group, was also presented with a Success Is Working award.
GLOBAL POSITIONING BOOSTS TIMBERLAND: Double-digit sales increases in Europe and Asia helped the Timberland Co. hike to higher earnings for the first quarter. For the three months ended April 2, the Stratham, N.H.-based outdoor lifestyle apparel and footwear manufacturer posted earnings that climbed 61.1 percent to $31.1 million, or 87 cents a diluted share, shattering Wall Street’s consensus estimate of 62 cents a share. Comparatively, the company reported earnings of $19.3 million, or 53 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Sales for the quarter soared 18.7 percent to $321.8 million from $271 million in the prior year. International sales led the way, increasing 28.7 percent to $172.7 million from $134.2 million in the same period a year ago.