MRO Magazine

Macy’s, Inc. Strengthens Senior Management Structure to Inform and Empower Growth

February 1, 2016 | By Business Wire News

CINCINNATI

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) today announced two key senior executive changes as the company moves aggressively to grow its omnichannel business based on intensive insight into evolving consumer preferences and changing shopping patterns.

  • Peter Sachse, who has served over the past year as Chief Innovation and Business Development Officer, will assume a new role as Chief Growth Officer, reporting to Macy’s, Inc. President Jeff Gennette, effective immediately. In this position, Sachse will oversee all Macy’s merchandising, as well as Macy’s Backstage, Bluemercury and international expansion.

    Among Sachse’s direct reports will be Tim Baxter, Macy’s Chief Merchandising Officer, a member of the company’s executive committee who will continue to lead all omnichannel merchandising efforts and vendor relationships, as well as product and pricing strategies, with additional opportunity ahead as the company amplifies its product strategies across new customer touchpoints domestically and internationally. Also reporting to Sachse will be Marla Malcolm Beck, chief executive officer, and Barry Beck, chief operating officer, of Bluemercury, as well as Vanessa Lefebvre, senior vice president for Macy’s Backstage, and Dustin Jones, newly appointed managing director of Macy’s China Limited.

  • Justin S. MacFarlane has joined Macy’s effective today in the new position of Chief Strategy, Analytics and Innovation Officer, reporting to Gennette. He will be a member of the company’s executive committee. MacFarlane previously was senior vice president for corporate strategy at ANN INC. MacFarlane will be responsible for Macy’s strategic development, consumer and customer research, data analysis, innovation and the development of future new business opportunities.

“These two new positions will enable us to move farther and faster in stimulating profitable sales growth in our company. Each role is critical to our ability to position the company’s brands for success in a consumer marketplace that continues to evolve in profound new directions for omnichannel retailing,” said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc.

“Peter Sachse now will lead the development of a holistic view of our businesses with expanded opportunities as we approach customers via stores, mobile and digital across Macy’s, Macy’s Backstage and Bluemercury,” Gennette said. “Justin MacFarlane will expand our capabilities in strategy development and execution while adding significant new expertise in our ongoing quest to understand and respond to consumer behavior, as well as analyze our deep reservoir of proprietary data about how, when, where and why customers are shopping – both today and as we look into the future.”

Bloomingdale’s remains a self-standing organization led by Tony Spring, chairman and chief executive officer, and reporting to Lundgren.

Executive Bios

Peter Sachse, 57, was named chief innovation and growth officer of Macy’s, Inc. in February 2015 after serving for three years as Macy’s chief stores officer. He previously was Macy’s chief marketing officer since February 2009, along with serving as chairman and CEO of macys.com since April 2006. He was president of Macy’s Corporate Marketing from 2003 to 2006. Prior to serving in these roles, Sachse was president and chief operating officer of The Bon Marché in Seattle. He began his retail career with Macy’s in Kansas City and was a division merchandise manager at Macy’s/Bullock’s in Atlanta. He was also executive vice president/general merchandise manager at Macy’s East and was later promoted to vice chair/director of stores of Macy’s East. A native of Sheboygan, WI, Sachse lives in the New York City area. He holds a degree from the University of Wisconsin.

Tim Baxter, 46, has served as Macy’s chief merchandising officer since February 2015 and previously was executive vice president and general merchandise manager for ready-to-wear since April 2013. For more than 24 years, he has served in a variety of merchant roles for Macy’s and The May Department Stores Company (acquired by Macy’s, Inc. in 2005). Baxter began his career as an executive trainee and assistant buyer at L.S. Ayres in Indianapolis in 1991 and has served in roles of increasing responsibility in a wide range of merchandising categories. He led Macy’s fashion office, multicultural business development and licensed business from March 2012 to April 2013. Baxter, a native of Toledo, Ohio, graduated from Miami University (Ohio). He lives in the New York City area.

Justin MacFarlane, 43, joined ANN INC. in 2010 as senior vice president for corporate strategy with responsibility for strategic planning, consumer insights and research, and execution of enterprise strategic initiatives. Previously, he served in a number of senior-level roles in leading consulting firms, including leadership roles in the global retail practices of AlixPartners and Kurt Salmon Associates. MacFarlane holds a bachelor’s degree from Babson College and an MBA from Duke University. He lives in the New York City area.

Macy’s, Inc., with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, is one of the nation’s premier retailers, with fiscal 2014 sales of $28.015 billion. The company operates about 900 stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Bloomingdale’s Outlet, Macy’s Backstage and Bluemercury, as well as the macys.com, bloomingdales.com and bluemercury.com websites. Bloomingdale’s in Dubai is operated by Al Tayer Group LLC under a license agreement.

All statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Macy’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this release because of a variety of factors, including conditions to, or changes in the timing of, proposed transactions, prevailing interest rates and non-recurring charges, competitive pressures from specialty stores, general merchandise stores, off-price and discount stores, manufacturers’ outlets, the Internet, mail-order catalogs and television shopping and general consumer spending levels, including the impact of the availability and level of consumer debt, the effect of weather and other factors identified in documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

(Note: additional information on Macy’s, Inc., including past news releases, is available at www.macysinc.com/pressroom)

Macy’s, Inc.
Media – Jim Sluzewski, 513-579-7764
or
Investor – Matt Stautberg, 513-579-7780

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