Genesco, Inc. announced that the company appointed Cassandra “Sandra” Harris as senior vice president, finance and chief financial officer, effective October 7, 2024. Harris succeeds Thomas A. George, whose planned retirement will take effect on December 12, 2024, to ensure an orderly transition.
“Sandra is a proven executive leader with a consistent record of driving strategic growth and value across complex organizations. She brings invaluable expertise from numerous multi-channel, multi-brand consumer businesses,” said Mimi E. Vaughn, Genesco’s Board chair, president and CEO. “We look forward to benefitting from Sandra’s leadership as we continue to drive sustainable growth, profitability, and long-term shareholder value.
“In addition, we are incredibly grateful to Tom for his financial leadership at Genesco. A 40-year finance professional with more than 30 years as a public company CFO, Tom has made significant contributions to Genesco, and we wish him the very best in retirement,” continued Vaughn.
Harris joins Genesco with a strong working background as CFO and in finance leadership roles in retail and consumer brands companies, including at VF Corp. Harris spent nearly ten years at VF (from 2008 to 2017), where she was responsible for global business and financial strategies across the company’s over 50lifestyle brands. Harris’ experience with VF includes retail, finance, supply chain, and IT leadership, including as CFO for DTC, Global Supply Chain and Shared Services.
Harris will report directly to Vaughn overseeing Genesco’s accounting, financial planning and analysis, investor relations, treasury, procurement and tax functions. George will continue as Genesco’s principal accounting officer during the transitional period.
It’s an exciting time for Genesco, and I am thrilled to join this incredible team at such a pivotal time. I look forward to working closely with the Genesco leadership team to help shape the company’s next chapter of growth as a footwear-focused industry leader,” said Harris.
Harris most recently was the CFO for Artisan Design Group, the leading nationwide provider of design and installation services for interior finishes. Before that she, was the CFO and COO of publicly held Tupperware Brands (from 2019 to 2022) as a strategic business partner responsible for transforming a traditional direct seller into an omnichannel company.
Genesco reported in a media release that “Harris’ proven track record at VF includes leading retail growth of over 40 percent across multiple platforms with a ‘digital first’/e-commerce approach, expansion of approximately 2,500 brick-and-mortar doors and growth of its wholesale partnerships.”
In addition to her financial leadership, during her time as VF’s chief information officer, Harris “operationally led the transformation of VF’s global technology from a traditional technology-focused organization to a consumer-focused digital-first company. Harris also enabled VF’s shared services to become more agile, flexible and efficient, creating a foundation for its growth platform,” reported Genesco.
Genesco, Inc. is a footwear-focused company with retail and lifestyle brands and omnichannel capabilities with approximately 1,314 retail stores and branded e-commerce websites. Its Journeys, Little Burgundy and Schuh brands serve teens, kids and young adults with on-trend fashion footwear inspired by youth culture in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Johnston & Murphy serves the “affluent man and woman” with footwear, apparel and accessories in the U.S. and Canada, and Genesco Brands Group sells branded lifestyle footwear to under licensed brands to Levi’s, Dockers and G.H. Bass. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Nashville, TN.
Image courtesy Genesco
