Ghurka appoints new president, creative director and finance VP

US leather bags and accessories manufacturer Ghurka has named three new key hires.

Jacques Panis has been appointed as the company’s new president, where he will oversee the expansion of the brand’s direct-to-consumer footprint, “revitalize” its wholesale business and spearhead upcoming customer and product innovation initiatives.

Panis joins from cannabis brand Mary's Medicinals where he was CEO. Prior to that, he was the chief executive of diamonds company New World Diamonds, and president of luxury goods retailer Shinola.

“I am honored to be joining Ghurka during this exciting time in its history and look forward to leading and evolving the brand that not only has a rich heritage, but huge future potential," Panis said in a release.

“For 45 years Ghurka has represented the pinnacle of American luxury leather goods, and we will further solidify that placement,” he added.

New creative head at Ghurka

Also joining the company is John Truex, who has been appointed creative director. Truex is a luxury leather industry veteran, having co-founded Lambertson Truex in 1998, which was then acquired by Tiffany & Company in 2009.

Following the acquisition, Truex served as vice president and design director of the Tiffany Leather Collection. Truex left Tiffany & Co in 2013 when he was appointed design director of leather accessories at Shinola.

His first creations at Ghurka will be presented with the upcoming Holiday 2021 collection.

Finally, Christina North has been appointed as the brand’s vice president of finance. She joins from women's fashion and lifestyle brand Vera Bradley where she spent the past 11 years in financial planning and analytics, business intelligence, e-commerce and operations.

She played a key role in the brand’s pivot from a promotion-led sales strategy to a product-led strategy. Ghurka said it will “draw on her broad and diverse experience in various business finance roles and corporate functions to drive efficient, effective business finance support”.

The three key changes come after Ghurka was acquired by a private investment group in 2019. The group viewed the acquisition as “a major opportunity for long-term growth and brand transformation”, and sees the new hires as “a step towards making good on that investment”.