I wanted to take the opportunity this week to spread the good news of our Women in Retail Leadership Circle (WIRLC) members. I have lots of good news to share, so let’s get started!

Sharon M. Leite has been named CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe, effective Aug. 27. Sharon will also serve as a member of The Vitamin Shoppe’s board of directors. Most recently, Sharon was president of Godiva Chocolatier in North America, a position she has held since October 2017. Prior to Godiva, Sharon was the president of Sally Beauty, U.S. and Canada, and she spent close to a decade at Pier 1 Imports, with her last position in 2016 as executive vice president of sales, customer experience and real estate. Earlier in her career, Sharon held various executive leadership roles at Bath and Body Works as well as various sales and operations positions with other retailers, including Gap Inc., The Walt Disney Company and Express.

“On behalf of the board of directors, we’re excited to have such a talented executive as our new CEO,” said Vitamin Shoppe Chairman Alex Smith in a company press release. “Sharon’s broad experience and impressive track record makes her an ideal choice to lead both our turnaround and future growth.”

The Vitamin Shoppe conducts business through more than 775 company-operated retail stores under The Vitamin Shoppe and Super Supplements retail banners, and through its website.

In June, WIRLC board member Katherine Bahamonde Monasebian was named chief digital and technology officer and executive vice president at Barneys New York. Prior to her role at Barneys, Katherine led marketing and e-commerce at Alex and Ani, where she further developed the brand in the market, helped grow its e-commerce channel and evolve its digital strategy, and developed integrated marketing strategies that fueled profitable sales growth. Prior to Alex and Ani, Katherine had a career marked by accelerated business transformation and growth at global lifestyle brands C. Wonder, Juicy Couture and lululemon athletica, building on a strong strategic planning and finance foundation established at large global corporations including PepsiCo and Citigroup. Complementing Katherine’s record of executive success, she serves as president of the board of directors of the Harvard Business School Club of New York, a 100-year-old organization and the largest global network of HBS alumni worldwide.

And last but not least, Jules Pieri, co-founder and CEO of The Grommet, has written a book! Titled “How We Make Stuff Now,” McGraw Hill Business will be publishing the book in early 2019. In a blog post announcing the news, Pieri said the book is intended to “help people learn inside tips for building great consumer product companies. It’s based on Grommet’s 10 years of working with almost 3,000 makers. The backbone of the book are real-life maker case studies.”

Congrats to our fabulous members! Do you have any news you want to share? Please let us know by dropping me a note at mcampanelli@napco.com.

Thanks!

Melissa Campanelli
Co-Founder
Women in Retail Leadership Circle