Managers at maternity-apparel retailer Mothers Work Inc. announced that CFO Michael Devine is leaving to join Coach Inc. Devine will be taking the CFO post at the New York-based accessories company effective immediately.
Devine is leaving the nest to join a company that itself cut ties with parent Sara Lee earlier this year. In recent years Coach has updated its conservative image and expanded its product line to include shoes and watches. The company operates 190 stores in the United States and has plans to open another 20 each year.
Before Mothers Work, Devine was CFO of supply-chain management company Strategic Distribution Inc. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
Devine replaces Richard Randall, who left Coach to pursue other opportunities. Meanwhile, executives at Philadelphia-based Mothers Work have launched a search for Devine’s successor. In a statement announcing his departure, Devine noted: “It is with a heavy heart that I leave Mothers Work. I leave behind a great company with a strong management team and bright future, and make available one of the best finance jobs in Philadelphia.”
Battery maker Rayovac Corp. announced that CFO Randall Steward is leaving the company for family reasons. President, COO, and former CFO Kent Hussey will take over the finance duties. The company currently has no plans to recruit a new CFO.
Steward’s departure comes two days after Rayovac reported fourth-quarter earnings that fell more than 31 percent from the prior year. The company blamed the drop in revenues on sluggish demand in the United States and Latin America. The share price of Rayovac stock took a 12 percent dive on Thursday, closing at $14.15. As of Friday afternoon, the share price had gained back only 44 cents.
Steward joined Rayovac in 1998 as senior vice president for corporate development. Later that year he was promoted to senior vice president of finance and CFO. Prior to signing on with the battery maker, he worked at Thermoscan, a division of Gillette Co.
Officials at media company Ziff Davis Media Inc. appointed Bart W. Catalane to the dual posts of COO and CFO.
Catalane was most recently senior vice president and CFO at TMP Worldwide Inc., the operator of job site Monster.com. But he’s no stranger to the media industry. Prior to his Monster gig, Catalane was CFO and executive vice president of ABC’s Broadcasting Division.
Ziff Davis has been hurt badly by the recent slump in advertising sales. The New York-based company slashed 11 percent of its workforce this year and also shortened the length of its contract with tech portal CNet. CNet provides content for Ziff Davis’s ZDNet site.
Catalane is a C.P.A. with an M.B.A. from Babson College. He has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Broadcasters, the North American National Broadcasters Association, the International Radio and Television Foundation, and the American Broadcast Employees Federal Credit Union.
An article from
From Here to Maternity: Mothers Work Looking for CFO
Filed Under:
Human Capital