DSW-parent Designer Brands, Inc. appointed John Atkinson to its Board of Directors. Atkinson was also named a member of the company’s Audit and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees.
“I am thrilled to have John join our Board as we accelerate the growth of Designer Brands while driving efficiencies across our brand-building journey,” said Jay Schottenstein, chairman of the Board, Designer Brands. “His extensive expertise as a strategic financial counselor will be fundamental to guiding our path to deliver on our strategic commitments. Additionally, his background in CPG and retail accounting will help focus the investments we make to attract new customers and offer the best footwear brands.”
“John will be a valuable addition to the Designer Brands Board, and our leadership team looks forward to his insights,” said Doug Howe, chief executive officer of Designer Brands. “We remain fully focused on continuous improvement, both in our organization’s agility and in the profitability of our overall business. John brings deep retail and financial expertise that we expect to deliver quick and lasting impact on those goals.”
Atkinson is a retired audit partner from KPMG’s Cincinnati Office, a multinational professional services network and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Atkinson joined KPMG in 2002 after 16 years at Arthur Andersen, where he became a partner in 1998. Before retiring in 2021 with over 35 years of experience as an auditor, Atkinson served as the lead audit partner for public and private businesses, primarily in the consumer food and retail sectors, including multiple Fortune 500 companies.
Before retiring, Atkinson was named Retail National Audit Industry Leader and was involved in discussions regarding the impact of the Retail Inventory Method. He also served as KPMG’s partner in charge of Audit Risk Management for the Mid-America business unit and was a designated Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reviewing partner. His responsibilities in these roles spanned client acceptance and retention decisions, partner assignments, fraud investigations, and reviewing SEC regulations for various publicly traded clients.
In retirement, Atkinson has been serving as a consultant for KPMG, leading and evaluating the company’s global learning and development execution and resource requirements, resulting in a new strategic five-year plan.
Atkinson was a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserves and a veteran of the Persian Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm). He served in various leadership roles, including platoon leader in charge of a 53-person platoon, executive officer in an Artillery unit and staff officer for an area support group.
Designer Brands operates 675 DSW Designer Shoe Warehouses, The Shoe Co., and Rubino stores in North America. Its footwear brands include Crown Vintage, Hush Puppies, Jessica Simpson, Keds, Kelly & Katie, Lucky Brand, Mix No. 6, Topo Athletic, and Vince Camuto.
Images courtesy Designer Brands
