Plant, a co-founder of Net-a-porter, recently held brand and consumer marketing roles at Burberry and Charlotte Tilbury Beauty.
He will take up his role as non-executive director and member of Burberry’s Audit and Nomination Committees on Jan. 1.
Burberry has turned a corner, with comparable store sales returning to growth in October, a new, younger customer base and a punchy plan to slash markdowns and preserve full-price sales.
The second quarter saw comparable store sales fall 6 percent, compared with 45 percent in the first quarter, while sales returned to growth in the month of October, according to Burberry.
The luxury giant has raised 600 million euros via a new bond that will be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
Raising funds to finance sustainable projects and to hit green goals has been trending among the big luxury companies, including Prada, Moncler and Ferragamo.
The British Fashion Council is asking designers to submit grant applications for a second round of funding in the wake of COVID-19. The submission deadline is Aug. 7.
The double-digit sales declines reported this week were shocking, and unlike anything the industry has ever witnessed. Although COVID-19 is abating, and trends are improving, true recovery won’t come until people can travel internationally once again.
Chief executive officer Marco Gobbetti assured shareholders that Burberry has a “robust” plan in place to move through the next 12 months.
The company plans to slash costs at offices, stores outside the U.K., and said second half performance will depend on government actions, and whether people can travel.
Burberry has been forced to rethink salaries, performance criteria and pensions, partly in response to the devastating impact of the coronavirus on growth.
The brand believes local markets hold the key to growth as countries worldwide start to ease out of lockdown.
Sales fell 3.2 percent in the year while operating profit was down 57 percent due to the COVID-19 crisis.
The brand is also delivering surgical masks, non-surgical masks and gowns to medical staff and patients, and helping to fund emergency vaccine research at Oxford University.
Around 40 percent of Burberry’s directly operated stores globally are now closed, with additional closures expected in the coming days.