Iconix Brand Group, Inc. reported Neil Cole is stepping down from his positions as chief executive officer, chairman and president and as a member of the board of directors. Cole has agreed to serve as a special advisor to the company through September 30, 2015 to assist with the transition. He thereafter intends to pursue other business opportunities. Iconix board member Peter Cuneo has been appointed chairman of the board and interim CEO.
Cuneo has served on Iconix's board since October 2006 and previously was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Marvel Entertainment.
The board said that it has formed a search committee to evaluate candidates to serve as the company's next CEO and will be engaging a leading executive search firm to assist in the process.
Cuneo said: “Neil Cole is a pioneer in our industry and as founder of this company has overseen its significant growth for the past 10 years. Under Neil's leadership, Iconix has acquired over 35 iconic consumer brands creating a diversified and powerful portfolio. On behalf of the board we want to thank Neil for his vision, dedication and the countless other contributions he has made to Iconix. We wish him well as he pursues new endeavors.”
“Iconix is a great company and I am excited about the opportunity to work with our senior leadership and board of Directors as we look to our next phase of growth and development,” continued Cuneo. “The board believes strongly in the future of Iconix's underlying business, as signified by its diversified portfolio of iconic consumer brands, outstanding global licensing network, and strong free cash flow generation. Our strategy will not change and we are highly confident that the company is well positioned to resume its growth trajectory, organically and through new acquisitions in the months and years ahead.”
Neil Cole said, “I am very proud of what we have built and the progress we have made over the past exciting 10 years and wish the company continuing success. The intellectual property assets of Iconix are strong and enduring. I look forward to assisting the company as we work to ensure a smooth transition.”
Cole served as the company's Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and President since he founded Iconix in 2005.
As part of today's announcement, Sue Gove, who joined the Iconix board in 2014, was named Chair of the Audit Committee, a position formerly held by Cuneo. In addition, Drew Cohen has been named Lead Director. He has served on the Iconix board since 2004.
Background on Peter Cuneo
Cuneo is currently the Managing Principal of Cuneo & company, LLC, a private investment and management company, in which his sons, Gavin and Colin are partners. Cuneo & Co. is focused on making investments in private companies within the consumer, retail and entertainment oriented industries. Some current investments include: Valiant Entertainment Inc. (comic book character based entertainment), Herotainment, LLC (online gaming based children's entertainment), West World Media Inc. (entertainment exhibition data aggregation), and RangeWorks, LLC (multimedia producer of western American entertainment) among others. In recent years, Cuneo has also served as senior advisor to a large distressed and special situations hedge fund co-investing in select private companies in the consumer and media sectors.
Previously, Cuneo was President and CEO of Remington Products company. He joined the company as it was near bankruptcy and, in less than four years, executed a successful turnaround of the business and facilitated its sale to private equity investors. He has also served as President of the Security Hardware Group of the Black & Decker Corporation, President of Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Group in Canada and President of the Clairol Personal Care Division.
Cuneo is a recognized leader in business turnarounds. Since 1983, he has completed seven turnarounds of distressed branded businesses in the global media and consumer products sectors. From 1999 to 2009, Peter played a lead role in the turnaround of Marvel Entertainment Inc. As President and CEO, he led Marvel, post bankruptcy, to a prominent position in the entertainment industry. He then served as Vice Chairman of the board, providing active strategic leadership as Marvel continued to grow into one of the world's leading entertainment brands. This culminated in its $4.5 billion sale to Disney at the end of 2009.
In addition to serving as Chairman of the board of Directors of Iconix Brand Group, he has been a board member of public and private companies such as Marvel Entertainment Inc., WaterPik Technologies Inc. (Chairman of the Audit Committee) and Remington Products company (private).
Cuneo currently sits on the board of the Foundation for The National Archives Foundation in Washington, DC as Co-Head of the Development Committee. He previously was Co-Head of the Nominating Committee. He served two tours as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in the Vietnam War. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School and holds a B. S. in Glass Science (Ceramic Engineering) from Alfred University, where he has served on the board of Trustees since 1990. He recently completed six years as Chairman of Alfred's board and was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in 2013.
