Things Remembered Bolsters Brand with Lisa Gavales to Join Company as President and CEO
CLEVELAND, Oct. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Things Remembered, the nation's largest and most prominent retailer of personalized gifts, proudly announces today that Lisa Gavales will join the company as its new President and CEO, effective November 10, 2014. Gavales replaces Michael Anthony, President, Chairman and CEO who has been with the company for the past eight years and will remain with Things Remembered as Chairman of the Board.
With extensive experience successfully building brands for Fortune 500 companies, Gavales joins Things Remembered most recently from Talbots where she was the President, Direct and Chief Marketing Officer. In her role at Talbots, she was a strategic leader who oversaw all aspects of multichannel marketing, direct merchandising, visual merchandising, and the company's e-commerce site.
In her new role, Gavales will further evolve the brand as a top omni-channel retailer, ensuring the right merchandise is available to the customer wherever and whenever she wants it and lead the company through its next growth phase. Michael Anthony, Chairman of the Board, says, "We are very pleased to have someone with Lisa's extensive retail and direct marketing experience leading our organization. Lisa is an accomplished leader with proven expertise who will successfully pilot Things Remembered through today's challenging retail environment."
"Things Remembered is a historied brand known for celebrating life's occasions, from milestone moments to every day events," said Gavales. "I am thrilled to join an organization with such loyal customers and employees and one that is primed for the incredible growth opportunity ahead."
Prior to her post at Talbots, Gavales was the EVP and Chief Marketing Officer for EXPRESS and oversaw marketing, visual merchandising, and e-commerce. A dynamic change agent, she was instrumental in building the profile and presence of the brand, ranging from the launch of its e-commerce site to the launch of EXPR on the New York Stock Exchange, to sidewalk runway fashion shows across the country. This commitment lead to express.com becoming a Top 100 Internet Retailer, and EXPRESS being named one of Interbrand's Top 50 retail brands in 2013.
Gavales' expansive career also includes 14 years at Bloomingdale's where she ran planning, was a General Merchandising Manager, launched bloomingdales.com and lastly held the role of SVP, Marketing.
Rob Selati, Managing Director of Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, whose funds are the controlling investors in Things Remembered, said, "After an extensive search, we know that Ms.Gavales has the business expertise and leadership skills necessary to lead Things Remembered's continued growth. We were pleased to find a leader who has the right mix of traditional retail and .com experience and success. On behalf of Madison Dearborn Partners and our Board of Directors, we are excited to have Lisa join our team and we look forward to working with her to optimize Things Remembered's potential."
Gavales has served on the boards of RAMA and Shop.org for the National Retail Federation and Charles & Colvard Ltd. She holds an MBA and a BS in Marketing; both from the University of Bridgeport.
About Things Remembered
Things Remembered is the nation's leading chain of personalized gift stores. Their artisan engravers help customers create unique and enduring personalized gifts for all occasions – big and small. In more than 600 stores in 48 states, gifts are personalized while you shop. You can also order online for home delivery or same-day in-store pickup. To find a Things Remembered store near you, visit www.thingsremembered.com/storelocator.
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SOURCE Things Remembered
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