Urban Outfitters announces departure of COO and flurry of promotions

By

Robin Driver

Published
Oct 14, 2020

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN), the parent company of the Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Free People retail banners, among other brands, has announced the departure of chief operating officer Calvin Hollinger and revealed a slew of promotions in its senior management team, which continues to be a largely family affair.

 
Hollinger will leave the Philadelphia-based lifestyle group at the end of October in order to pursue other opportunities.
 
He will be succeeded as COO by the group’s current chief financial officer Frank Conforti, who will also become co-president as he takes on responsibility for URBN’s fulfillment and logistics, development, legal, talent and HR departments. Conforti will maintain his role as CFO while the company searches for his replacement.

Joining him as co-president is Meg Hayne, the wife of URBN CEO Richard Hayne, who will also continue in her role as chief creative officer. Along with her promotion, the executive, who has worked with the company for more than three decades, will now receive direct reports from the group’s three major brands and sourcing department.
 
Dave Hayne – Meg and Richard Hayne’s son – is also being promoted to the role of chief technology officer, a position in which he will take responsibility for the company’s IT department. He too will maintain his current role as president of the Nuuly brand.
 
The final Hayne family member to benefit from the flurry of promotions is Richard Hayne’s nephew, Azeez Hayne. Having served as URBN’s general counsel since 2015, he will now combine the responsibilities of this position with those of chief administrative officer, a role which will involve the executive overseeing the company’s HR and talent departments.
 
On a brand level, Hillary Super, president of the Anthropologie Group, and Sheila Harrington, president of the Free People Group, have both been promoted to the role of CEO of their respective businesses.
 
“We thank Calvin for his 16 years of dedicated service to the company. During his tenure, he made significant contributions to our success and directed numerous improvements in the areas and functions that reported to him,” said Richard Hayne in a release.
 
“I congratulate our six executives on their well-deserved promotions. I look forward to working closely with our entire executive team to support URBN’s future growth and strategic initiatives,” he added.
 
Due to the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, URBN reported a 16.5% decline in second-quarter sales in August, but managed to swing to a surprise profit of $34.4 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, largely thanks to solid growth in its digital channel.