Dive Brief:

• Visa executive Sachin Dhawan is Stitch Fix's new chief technology officer as of Monday, the apparel e-retailer said in a press release. He fills a spot left vacant since Cathy Polinsky's departure in 2020, a Stitch Fix spokesperson confirmed.

• Dhawan "built and scaled Visa's global technology infrastructure," per the release. Before that he spent two years at Blackhawk Network, four years at PayPal and 12 years at Microsoft, according to LinkedIn. 

• Dhawan's arrival comes amid employee turnover at Stitch Fix in the last few years, most notably the departure of founder Katrina Lake last year as CEO.

Dive Insight:

Amid a downturn in the stock market more generally, with some tech stocks taking the hardest hits, Stitch Fix's share price in recent days has been languishing, occasionally even dipping below its $15 initial public offer.

General investment nervousness isn't necessarily the only explanation, however.

Some observers have noted that its "Fix" model — sales based on boxes of apparel curated by algorithms and human stylists and sent to customers — is a niche concept with limited growth potential.

Yet, in recent months, several analysts have expressed skepticism around the retailer's move to de-emphasize that original disruptive idea in order to run a more traditional e-commerce site. Stitch Fix CEO Elizabeth Spaulding last month said the shift has been bumpier than anticipated.

As Spaulding assembles her team, the company is saying good-bye to some C-suite executives and other corporate leaders. Most recently, the company said its director of styling operations is leaving after two years, and last month Spaulding announced that Chief Product Officer Sharon Chiarella would be leaving after less than a year. 

There's also been turnover among the rank and file. Over the summer last year, a host of stylists left after the company made abrupt changes to their work conditions, prompting concerns from analysts and an apology from Chief Operating Officer Minesh Shah.