Torrid has appointed Lisa Harper as its new CEO, as current CEO Liz Muñoz steps into a newly created position as Chief Creative Officer (CCO) at the apparel retailer that serves women sizes 10 to 30. The change at the top comes amid a number of leadership shifts taking effect immediately.
Tanner MacDiarmid has been appointed as Interim CFO, following the retirement of former CFO George Wehlitz at the end of April 2022. Chinwe Abaelu, SVP and Chief Accounting Officer, will serve as Principal Financial Officer until Torrid appoints a new CFO. Former PVH Corp. CFO Michael Shaffer has been appointed as an Independent Member and Chair of the Board of Director’s Audit Committee.
As Torrid’s CCO, Muñoz will manage product, design, product development, fabrication, sourcing, technical fit, creative marketing and merchandising. Serving as Torrid CEO from August 2018 to April 2022, Muñoz led the retailer through the COVID-19 pandemic and a 2021 IPO. Muñoz has served in a number of roles at Torrid and Hot Topic since 2010. From 1997 to 2010, She worked at Lucky Brand from 1997 to 2010 in a number of roles including President and SVP of Design and Merchandising.
Incoming CEO Harper has previously served as CEO of the plus-size retailer, from March 2011 until July 2016. More recently, Harper was CEO of Belk from 2016 through 2021 and then served as Executive Chairperson.
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Beyond Belk and Torrid, Harper’s extensive retail experience includes top roles at Gymboree and design and merchandising jobs with retailers including Esprit, GapKids, Levi Strauss, Limited Too and Mervyn’s.
“Lisa brings tremendous direct-to-consumer experience to her new role at Torrid,” said Stefan Kaluzny, Chairman of Torrid’s Board of Directors in a statement. “Together Lisa and Liz will focus on driving strategic growth and value for all stakeholders. Liz’s focus on product and the customer combined with Lisa’s operational expertise create an outstanding team.”
