Designer Brands Inc. on Tuesday announced William “Bill” L. Jordan has been named chief growth officer of Designer Brands Inc., effective immediately.
Previously, Jordan served as executive vice president and president, DSW, since February 2019. As part of this transition, Roger Rawlins will serve as interim president, DSW, in addition to his duties as CEO of Designer Brands. The company is conducting a search for a permanent successor.
“As DBI executes its growth initiatives to increase our market share, via differentiated products and differentiated shopping experiences, we believe Bill’s expertise is best utilized to help guide and grow our organization as a whole,” said Rawlins. “We are continually investing in our people to ensure we have the right team to propel our Company to the next level. Bill is a seasoned executive with a unique set of skills, and we look forward to benefitting from his talents in this newly created role.”
As chief growth officer, Jordan will work closely with the management team to chart Designer Brands’ strategic growth opportunities. He will synergistically utilize the DBI capabilities of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and The Shoe Company retail expertise, Camuto design and sourcing and the Affiliated Business Group leased business acumen to expand the business. He will leverage his retail expertise in evaluating opportunities to integrate operations, identify new partnerships and develop retail concepts to drive the company forward. Bill’s extensive experience in retail and branding and working knowledge of Designer Brands’ operations, “make him an ideal fit for this role,” said the brand.
“I am excited for the opportunity to serve the entire Designer Brands’ organization and our incredible 30-plus million loyalty members,” said Jordan. “This is a pivotal time for Designer Brands, and I look forward to working closely with Roger in this new capacity to help advance our Company-wide growth initiatives and create value for all of our stakeholders.”
Prior to becoming president of DSW, Jordan held a variety of positions at Designer Brands over the past 14 years, including chief administrative officer, executive vice president and chief legal officer of DSW and president of Town Shoes.
Rawlins on Tuesday also issued the following statement about DBI’s guidance: “Based on preliminary, unaudited results, we expect to meet our previously stated full year 2019 guidance. We will be issuing fourth quarter and full year 2019 results, as well as 2020 guidance, on March 17, 2020.”
