Excerpt from WWD, May 23, 2018  http://wwd.com/business-news/retail/penneys-ceo-departs-1202679192/

“Marvin is leaving behind a good team of people in the office of the chairman to sustain the business until they find a new leader. It’s a solid office of the chairman with executives with skills that complement each others,” observed Elaine Hughes, founder and ceo of E.A. Hughes executive search. “There’s a good 50-50 chance the new ceo comes from outside the industry and it’s a person who knows they’re not in line to be the next chairman or ceo of the company they are with.”

Article by David Moin, May 23, 2018

J.C. Penney’s Latest Challenge: CEO to Exit

E.A. Hughes Appoints Bob Marchant as Vice President

Excerpt from WWD, May 18, 2017ralph-lauren-talks-partnership-naming-new-ceo

“But Elaine Hughes, chief executive officer of E.A. Hughes, an executive search firm, was positive about Louvet’s hiring.

“The good news for most of these package goods people, the shift has happened where branding is so important, and they’re experts at that. They understand how to develop sustainable brands, more so than these flash-in-the-pan brands. The other thing is they’re all trained far better, coming out of packaged goods, in leadership and development of organizations with succession planning leadership, moreso than people who have historically come out of the wholesale or even the retail business,” she said. Packaged goods executives understand the need to collaborate with many groups of people to initiate their businesses, she said.

Hughes observed that many people who have grown up in the wholesale and particularly the U.S. domestic retail business don’t have a global point of view. “Any company, whether it’s a Ralph Lauren or the vertical retailers today, needs individuals with truly a global point of view in order to sustain their businesses. We’re still in an over-stored and over-brand environment here, and the only uptick to the businesses is an international expansion.

“The ones that don’t have that international experience, many times there are missteps in their execution overseas. They won’t have the sense of the cultural innuendos,” she said. “The hiring of Patrice is a very positive step for the Ralph Lauren organization,” said Hughes, who noted that Lauren has had terrific partnerships in the past, whether it was Peter Strom or Roger Farah.”

Article by Lisa Lockwood and Bridget Foley with contributions from Allison Collins
Ralph Lauren Talks ‘Partnership’ in Naming New CEO

Excerpt from WWD.com – March 20, 2017
Article by Evan Clark (paid subscription required)

“The problems plaguing the industry have more to do with the historic structural sustainability of these organizations than the single individual at the helm, particularly if at the helm there’s been a succession of changes over a short period of time,” said Elaine Hughes, founder and ceo of E.A. Hughes & Co.

“The revolving c-suite [stems] from a lack of conscientious succession planning which should be a disciplined exercise in every company and something the board of directors should demand,” Hughes said.
The corner office departures at Ralph Lauren, Victoria’s Secret, Lands’ End, Stein Mart and Tiffany’s can’t be linked to any one common cause, she said.

“The individuals chosen for these roles who now have been released probably displayed the drive, resilience and thought leadership these boards sought,” Hughes said. “What was lacking was a combination of historic success in a similar model coupled with an inability to sustain as well as improve these businesses in a time of unprecedented change and acceleration.

“As long as the industry retains a myopic view on leadership and organizational development as well as refuses to see that the world is a flat canvas for talent that can be integrated from other industries particularly on the technology side, we will remain not only an industry which will be late to change but may erode because of it,” she said.