Bath & Body Works Makes C-suite Changes
Not long after it made peace with a billionaire activist investor, Bath & Body Works is switching up its C-suite.
As part of the changes, Thilina Gunasinghe has been named chief digital and technology officer, joining from McDonald’s Corp. where he most recently served as global vice president and chief technology architect and data officer and was responsible for leading all customer, digital and restaurant technology architecture and data globally. In this newly created role, Gunasinghe will lead Bath & Body Works’ digital and technology strategy, digital operations, data and analytics and transformation.
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Of the new role, chief executive officer Gina Boswell said: “Adding a dedicated chief digital and technology officer and chief customer officer to our leadership team structure will help refine our focus as we work to expand our customer base, elevate our brand, further strengthen customer loyalty and ultimately drive growth and profitability.”
At the same time, the company has created the role of chief customer officer, responsible for executing a comprehensive strategy to strengthen and elevate the brand, and it’s understood that a search is underway.
The company is also on the look out for a new chief financial officer as Wendy Arlin is stepping down from the position on July 29, or earlier if a successor is named.
Boswell added: “Wendy was an instrumental member of the team that led the successful spin-off of the Victoria’s Secret business and established Bath & Body Works as a stand-alone public company, in addition to her work building a strong finance team and helping the company navigate the dynamic operating environment. We wish her all the best in her next chapter.”
The changes come not long after Bath & Body Works reached an agreement with Third Point, which had launched a proxy challenge calling for shareholder representation on the board to ease concerns about the company’s corporate governance and decision-making processes. To appease Third Point, Bath & Body Works said that Thomas J. Kuhn, a lawyer, finance executive and board member, had been appointed as a new independent member of its board of directors. Kuhn is currently managing member of Doorbrook and formerly held senior roles at investment banking firm Allen & Company and the law firm of Covington & Burling.
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