Lulu Guinness names Mertens-Lustig its new CEO

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jan 8, 2020

Accessories specialist Lulu Guinness has named Sandra Mertens-Lustig as CEO, effective from January 13. The company's new top executive is a strategic merchandising specialist with a deep understanding of both the creative and business side of running brands. And she has a strong CV built up at a raft of well known high-end brands.

She’ll be working with creative director David Hodgson, who joined the firm in 2018, and said she’s looking forward to “bringing a fresh and exciting global perspective to this iconic British brand”.

Mertens-Lustig has lived and worked around the world from Paris to New York and Shanghai, all of them key locations for the luxury and premium accessories market, and that experience should help her in her new post. The company also said she’s had “a long and very successful career at world-class level”.

She previously worked for Ralph Lauren, Kenzo and Coach, but most recently has been managing director of Agent Provocateur following its acquisition by Four Holdings in 2017. She joined the brand originally as  its commercial director.
 
Her new employer’s chairman James McArthur said: “Lulu and I are absolutely delighted with the imminent arrival of Sandra. This marks the next major step in the journey that we embarked on together in 2018 to re-energise the Lulu Guinness business. Sandra will be an outstanding partner to David’s creative strengths and natural commercial instinct, and an inspirational leader for the business.”

Her arrival coincides with Lulu Guinness managing director Paul Spinks moving from his current role and taking up a non-executive director post on the board.