Jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. announced Tuesday it had hired former Canadian Pacific Railway executive Mark Erceg as its new CFO, filling a position that had been vacant since May.
Erceg’s appointment will become effective on Oct. 18. He stepped down last week as CFO at Canadian Pacific after 16 months with the railroad operator and replaces Ralph Nicoletti at Tiffany.
“Mark brings an operational process orientation and a broad financial, international and consumer brands background to Tiffany,” Tiffany CEO Frederic Cumenal said in a news release.
“As the new leader of our multi-talented finance, procurement and information technology organizations, his varied experience and global perspective will be important as we continue to work toward strengthening Tiffany’s luxury brand position around the world and enhancing our profitability and productivity,” he added.
The Tiffany brand has been under duress lately amid weak demand from both domestic customers and foreign tourists. Analysts have attributed Tiffany’s struggles to the strong dollar, which discourages tourists from buying high-end jewelry, and a lack of interest from millennial shoppers.
Last week, the company reported worldwide net sales declined 6% to $932 million in the second quarter and comparable store sales, a key retail metric, fell 8%.
Erceg, 47, joined Canadian Pacific in May 2015 after five years as CFO at door manufacturer Masonite International Corp. Before that, he spent 18 years at Procter & Gamble, serving in finance, market strategy, customer response, general management, and global investor relations.
Nicoletti left Tiffany in May to become the finance chief at Newell Brands, which was formed from the recent $15 billion merger of Newell Rubbermaid and Jarden Corp.
In trading Tuesday, Tiffany’s shares were up 0.3% at $68.52.