GM board’s new member: Focus on brand loyalty
DETROIT — General Motors has found its newest board member in the world of luxury fashion.
The automaker appointed Joanne Crevoiserat, CEO of Tapestry, to its board of directors, returning it to gender parity. Crevoiserat, 58, is a member of Business Roundtable, a group of chief executives who weigh in on policy issues affecting the economy, alongside GM CEO Mary Barra.
The addition of Crevoiserat follows recent departures of two other women from GM’s board. Jane Mendillo, a former CEO of Harvard Management Co., stepped down after the automaker’s annual meeting in June. Meg Whitman, a former Hewlett-Packard and eBay CEO who joined the GM board just last year, resigned after being confirmed as U.S. ambassador to Kenya in July.
At Tapestry — the parent company of Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman — Crevoiserat developed a strategy to grow sales and profits by making the company more consumer-centric, digital, data-driven, lean and responsible, according to her Business Roundtable bio.
“Joanne’s approach to driving growth, which focuses on integrating data-driven insights to elevate the consumer experience, will be invaluable to GM as we launch our all-electric portfolio, introduce additional software-based services, and scale businesses in new markets,” Barra said in a statement.
“As we accelerate our transformation, we have an incredible opportunity to drive loyalty for our iconic brands and attract new customers, which is exactly what Joanne has done at Tapestry.”
Tapestry has been listed as one of America’s Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek and the Best Employers for Diversity by Forbes under Crevoiserat’s leadership.
Crevoiserat has been involved with corporate transformations in previous leadership roles at Abercrombie & Fitch, Kohl’s, Walmart and May Department Stores.
“This is an exciting time to join the GM board. The company is innovating across every part of the business to drive growth,” Crevoiserat said in a statement. “I look forward to serving the board and GM’s shareholders through this transformation.”