According to a report by algorithmic marketing company Nextel
, the fashion industry's modern CEO is digitally savvy and
environmentally conscious, which examines the technical backgrounds of more
than 100 CEOs of major fashion brands.
The report, released today, provides an overview of the
fashion industry's response to a variety of challenges and also highlights the
growing number of women currently occupying the top positions.
Nextel is a SaaS platform that enables agile marketing decisions.
Their latest report looks at the top CEO appointments in the fashion
industry in 2020, especially in Europe and the United States.
"Despite the effects of the coronavirus crisis, companies were planning for the future while trying to address immediate problems,"
said Joaquín Villalba, CEO, and co-founder of Nextel. "New
hires in the fashion industry are reflecting its strategy to thrive in the new
retail landscape by selecting leaders who will lead the way to a better and
more sustainable fashion business."
According to the report 'Fashion's Latest CEOs at the Top of 2021',
there was still a lot of movement in the first quarter of 2020, but it
slowed down until after the first blockages. However, the priorities seemed to
hold steady: fashion industry experience and strong retail experience, 63.7% of
new hires already had C-level experience; Forward-looking priorities such as
digital transformation and sustainability.
The rise of female CEOs in the fashion industry is remarkable.
Compared to its predecessors, the number of female managers has
increased by 95.1%. Important examples were: Helena Helmersson at H&M and
Sonia Syngal at Gap.
Read the full report here.
Information report
Nextel compiled publicly available information on the
appointments of new CEOs in the fashion industry and information on their
predecessors in 2020. Top sources included press releases from fashion companies,
LinkedIn, leading fashion industry publications, fashion and retail sectors.