Guess taps Hugo Boss alum for CFO seat

Dive Brief:

Clothing manufacturer and retailer Guess said Tuesday that it hired a new CFO as part of a reorganization of its finance team.
Interim Guess CFO Dennis Secor will be replaced by Markus Neubrand, currently a finance chief at luxury fashion brand MCM Worldwide, according to a press release. Neubrand is also a veteran of fashion company Hugo Boss Americas.
The appointment becomes effective Aug. 1. Secor will remain with the company as executive vice president through March 31, 2024 to support a smooth transition, the release said.

Dive Insight:

The announcement comes on the heels of a weak financial report from Guess. In March, the company reported net earnings of $149.6 million for its fiscal 2023 period, a decrease of about 13% over the prior year. Total net revenue increased 4% to $2.69 billion.

The revenue growth was “partially offset by the significant headwind from the strong U.S. dollar,” Secor said during an earnings call at the time. Looking ahead, the retailer is expecting inflationary pressure on its expenses, including labor costs and store occupancy, he said.

Secor became interim CFO of the company in April 2022, succeeding Katie Anderson, who now serves as finance chief for Neiman Marcus Group.

The appointment of Neubrand as a permanent replacement follows a “rigorous” search process, Guess CEO Carlos Alberini said in the company’s release.

“Markus is an accomplished finance and operating executive who also brings deep apparel industry experience and strong leadership, operational and strategy skills,” the CEO said. “We look forward to partnering with him as our team continues to execute our business plan and build on the momentum we have generated from our transformation strategy and the elevation of our brands.”

The company also announced that Fabrice Benarouche was promoted to senior vice president of finance and investor relations, effective immediately. He previously served as a vice president.

Neubrand, 46, has served as Group CFO at MCM Worldwide since January 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile. Between 2014 and 2020, he was the chief operating officer and CFO of Hugo Boss Americas. He also previously served in other roles there, including a director of financial planning and analysis at the company’s headquarters in Germany.

Neubrand will be based in the Switzerland headquarters of Guess and will start off with an annual base salary of 475,000 Swiss francs, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by the company.