Clarks CEO Herrero exits but stays on the board, turnaround off to good start

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 8, 2021

Clarks CEO Victor Herrero has exited the role, making him the the second Clarks top executive to vacate the post in less than a year. He’s being replaced by current chairman Johnny Chen while a permanent CEO is sought.

However, Herrero’s move isn’t a CEO-being-ousted situation with the former Guess chief executive having taken on the role only temporarily earlier this year after the departure of predecessor Giorgio Presca.

He now remains a director of Clarks but will also take on wider responsibilities at Clarks owner LionRock Capital.

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Presca had left as the firm was taken over by LionRock after the company had struggled for some time in the face of the general shift to online shopping.

The new temporary CEO Johnny Chen has only been on the Clarks board since February and otherwise is vice-chairman of LionRock.

The company also said that it’s on track to “meet or exceed” its forecast revenue goals, and its debt and cash positions have “considerably improved” in recent months.

Careful cost controls and the end of pandemic restrictions have helped the firm to improve its financial position. It added that Herrero “has done an incredible job in a much shorter than anticipated time and gives us a unique ability to accelerate the next stages of our growth plans”.