Is Lloyd Planning to Exit Kate Spade?
LLOYD’S FUTURE: Is Deborah Lloyd, chief creative officer of Kate Spade & Co., heading out the door? Following closely on the heels of the departure of Craig Leavitt, chief executive officer of Kate Spade, in August, sources say Lloyd is planning to leave the company as well. “We don’t comment on industry rumors and speculation,” a spokeswoman for Kate Spade said.
While Lloyd apparently is engrossed in the resort collection, sources said it was a fait accompli that she would be leaving the company, which was acquired last May by Coach Inc. in a $2.4 billion deal. Coach has commenced a search for Leavitt’s successor and its ceo Victor Luis is leading the business on an interim basis. Susan Hart of Spencer Stuart is reportedly working on the search.
Lloyd, who was hired in 2008, had been executive vice president of product design and development at Banana Republic since 2001. She was vice president of women’s design for Burberry London for five years.
In developing Kate Spade into a global lifestyle brand, Lloyd brought a whimsical, quirky and youthful vibe to the brand and instilled a lot of personality into the product.
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