Pandora names chief commercial officer

Jewellery brand Pandora has appointed Martino Pessina as its chief commercial officer following its announcement earlier this month to establish a “consumer-focused business with a strengthened leadership team”.

Experienced retail executive Pessina will take up the newly established chief commercial officer on April 2, joining the jewellery brand from H&M, where he most recently served as president of its North America operations.

The new position will be the “cornerstone” in Pandora’s new operating model, confirmed the jewellery brand, and Pessina will be responsible for commercial operations across the company’s more than 100 markets, and he will manage a retail centre of excellence to improve global merchandising, store development, planning and execution.

Pessina, who will be reporting to chief executive Alexander Lacik and serve on Pandora’s executive leadership team, will also lead a new function called Network and Franchise Management overseeing the retail estate and supporting franchise partners globally, leading the company’s continued commercial turnaround.

H&M executive Martino Pessina joins Pandora as chief commercial officer

Commenting on the new appointment, Lacik said in a statement: “As part of our turnaround programme, we are strengthening the organisation and moving Pandora closer to consumers.

“Martino has an impressive track record in international mass-market fashion retail and will play a very important role in this transformation. He is a natural leader with excellent analytical skills and a deep understanding of shoppers. I am very happy to welcome him to our leadership team.”

Pessina, added: “Pandora is the world’s largest jewellery brand with a retail network touching millions of consumers. The company is now on a journey to step-change the relevance and reach of the brand, and that is incredibly exciting for me to be part of. I look forward to joining the team and contribute to the next steps in Pandora’s transformation.”

In March, Pandora announced a reorganisation of the company, closing its three regional organisations to eliminate an organisational layer between global headquarters and the local markets, and instead grouping the 100 markets into 10 clusters, each headed by a general manager based in the largest market in the cluster.

As a consequence of the strategic reorganisation, 180 employees from Pandora’s regional offices and markets have been made redundant, with the three current regional presidents stepping down from the executive leadership team.

Image: courtesy of Pandora