Dive Brief:

• James Hathaway, a 25-year PepsiCo/Frito-Lay alum, will act as interim CFO for Qurate Retail Group following the resignation of current financial head Jeffrey A. Davis, the company announced in a Wednesday press release.
• The company, which owns and operates seven retail and home shopping channels and brands including Zulily and Cornerstone, also promoted William Hunter, SVP, business transformation & shared services to the newly created role of Chief Transformation Officer, the firm announced Wednesday.
• The executive restructuring comes two months after the retail group outlined a three-year growth and turnaround plan known as Project Athens on June 27, aimed at stabilizing revenue, improving customer relationships and reducing costs.  

Dive Insight:

The company did not confirm when the CFO swap is set to become effective. Davis, who served as CFO and EVP for four years per his LinkedIn profile, will remain on for a transition period, according to the Wednesday press release.

Hathaway joined the company in May 2021 as an SVP. In that role, he led finance for its QxH unit, which includes both the QVS US and HSN — previously known as the Home Shopping Network — television shopping networks under its banner. Hathaway acted as CFO for both networks, per the Wednesday release.

Before moving to Qurate, Hathaway served in various executive roles for PepsiCo, including acting as VP of finance, financial planning and analysis, Frito-Lay for a five year period beginning April 2016 per his LinkedIn profile. He also acted as VP, finance, east division for Frito-Lay and the Division CFO for four years, beginning February 2012.  

Both Hathaway and Hunter, the company’s newly minted CTO, are the latest executive appointments made by the retail group as it looks to restructure its C-Suite and revitalize its business in the face of waning earnings. Qurate announced new presidents of both its QVC and HSN channels, with Mike Fitzharris and Rob Muller, respectively, stepping into these roles per a Mar. 2 press release.   

On Mar., 14, the company also announced that Terry Boyle, a HauteLook and Nordstrom alum who began his career at Ernst & Young Consulting, would become the president and CEO of its online retail brand Zulily.

Qurate Retail Group CEO and President David Rawlinson presented the firm’s Project Athens three-year turnaround initiative during an investor event on June 27 following its March rush of executive appointments. Project Athens is a five-step plan aimed at boosting customer relationships, reducing costs and increasing streaming growth, among other objectives.  

Rawlinson pointed to Project Athens as a plan to “re-establish revenue stability, margin expansion and incremental free cash flow generation” during the company’s second quarter earnings call reported Aug. 5. The retail group reported a 16% decrease in revenue year-on-year, generating $3 billion for the quarter compared to $3.5 billion generated in Q2 2021.

Qurate and Hathaway declined requests for comment.