Position Open: CEO With B***s of Steel for the GAP
January 23, 2007
The other big news today is more an inevitability than a surprise. Gap CEO Paul Pressler has finally resigned at the request of the company's board, apparently without much protest. Why did they wait so long? Even with only eight months left on his contract he is still eligible for $14 million severance package. After seasons of muddled direction, and a disastrous recent Holiday season, the board is reportedly searching for someone with the kind of deep merchandising experience and fashion sense that Pressler, who came from Disney, sorely lacked. They are looking for someone like Millard "Mickey" Drexler who was similarly dismissed by the board only to go on to engineer a spectacular turnaround at J.Crew that only emphasized Gaps woes by contrast. For now, Pressler's responsibilities will be assumed by Robert J. Fisher, son of the company's founder, whose family is still the majority stockholder. Best of luck to the board on their search.
Under Fire, Gap Chief Steps Down by Michael Barbaro & Andrew Ross Sorkin (NYTimes)
Mickey D. got booted from Gap because sales were off, went to J. Crew and turned it into.....Banana Republic! Guess he just couldn't handle GAP and Old Navy divisions.
Posted by: derfmoosepatrol | January 24, 2007 at 02:05 AM