Farfetch CFO to exit in 2023

Dive Brief:

Elliot Jordan, CFO of luxury fashion retailer Farfetch, will step down from the firm’s financial helm by the end of this year, the company announced Thursday.
Jordan, who has been in the top financial seat for eight years, will continue his CFO duties through the year, while the London-based company “initiates a search process for a successor,” according to a company statement.
The finance chief’s exit happens against the backdrop of Farfetch reporting a sharp decline in revenue driven by a drop in digital and brand platform revenue for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31 2022, the company also announced Thursday.

Dive Insight:

Jordan has held the top financial seat of Farfetch since January of 2015. Prior to joining the luxury retail platform — which sells products from over 1,400 boutiques and brands globally — he was the director of finance at ASOS.com, another online retailer selling fashion brands, from Feb. 2013 until Jan. 2015. He also currently serves as the non-executive director of HM Land Registry, the official land registration service for England and Wales, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The departing finance chief also oversaw the company’s 2018 listing on the New York Stock Exchange and is the executive sponsor of diversity, equity and inclusion, the statement said.

“We are some way off from saying our ‘goodbyes’ but his legacy will be formidable finance and business services teams that are part of a company that we believe is extremely well placed to continue to lead the industry and drive profitable growth,” said José Neves, CEO and founder in the statement.

Farfetch reported record revenue for the full fiscal year of 2022 of $2.3 billion, up 3% year-over-year, while it fell $36.5 million to $629.2 million in the fourth quarter.

“Our solid start to the year gives me confidence 2023 will be a Year of Execution with growth building throughout the year as we comp the previous year’s macro headwinds and launch exciting new partners to deliver strong growth,” Jordan stated in the earnings release.

The company also announced changes to their leadership team last month. Elizabeth von der Goltz — previously at Bergdorf Goodman, Yoox Net-a-Porter Group and, more recently, Matches Fashion — is taking on the roles of chief fashion and merchandising officer and CEO of Browns, one of Farfetch’s additional businesses. Sindhura Sarikonda will also joining as president of the Americas, according to a company statement.

Meanwhile, Holli Rogers, chief brand officer and Martin Avetisyan, chief growth officer, exited the company to “pursue other opportunities,” the statement said.

Farfetch joins several other companies this week announcing they are either seeking a new finance chief, or promoting from within to fill the seat.

Intuit, the global financial technology platform that makes TurboTax, CreditKarma, QuickBooks and Mailchimp, named Sandeep Singh as CFO, effective Aug. 1, the company announced Thursday. Singh has been with Intuit since 2016 and has held a variety of senior financial positions.