Dive Brief:
- Womenswear brand Spanx has named Cricket Whitton its new chief executive officer, per a company release.
- Whitton most recently served as president and chief growth officer where she helped drive the brand’s digital transformation. She also led the day-to-day operations at Spanx following the departure of former CEO Kim Jones in 2023.
- Spanx also announced that Jeanne Jackson was appointed executive chair and will work alongside Whitton and founder Sara Blakely on growth initiatives.
Dive Insight:
A number of retail brands have replaced their chief executives over the past year. Retail Dive tracked upwards of 50 CEO exits during 2023.
The list of CEO changes continues to grow in 2024. Deckers this month promoted its chief commercial officer, Stefano Caroti, to the CEO position. And Rothy’s saw its co-founders, Stephen Hawthornthwaite and Roth Martin, step down from their roles of CEO and president as the brand ushered in new leadership.
"I am so happy to announce Cricket as the CEO of Spanx. Her deep commitment to our brand gives me a lot of confidence in the continued success of our business,” Blakely said in a statement. “I am also thrilled to welcome Jeanne Jackson to the Spanx family. Her unparalleled industry experience will be invaluable as we enter this next phase of growth and innovation. Cricket and Jeanne make a powerful team and I'm looking forward to working closely with them both in their new roles."
Jackson has held C-level roles and senior leadership positions at Nike, Walmart.com, Gap, Inc., Victoria Secret, The Walt Disney Company and Saks Fifth Avenue.
"I have long admired the evolution and thoughtful expansion of the Spanx business,” Jackson said in a statement. “It has grown beyond its roots as a category-creator in shapewear and is increasingly recognized as a performance apparel business that cannot be defined by a single category.”
Spanx in 2021 sold a majority stake to Blackstone in a deal that valued the brand at $1.2 billion. More recently, the company has been building out its physical presence through a number of pop-up locations in New York City, Washington, D.C., Miami and London.
