Barneys names Mark Lee Executive Chairman and Daniella Vitale the CEO

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Feb 2, 2017

Barneys New York announced on Thursday that Mark Lee has retired from his role as full-time CEO and has been named Executive Chairman, reporting to Richard Perry. Chief Operating Officer Daniella Vitale will succeed Lee as CEO.

 
Mark Lee has served as CEO of Barneys New York since 2010 after a two-year search. Prior to joining the luxury retail company, he worked at Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Jil Sander and Gucci as Chief Executive.
 
Lee said in a press release, “Leading Barneys New York has been a privilege and the ultimate finale for my full-time career. When I joined as CEO in 2010 I thought I would remain for four years. Six and a half years later it’s time for me to turn the day-to-day management over to Daniella who has long been my planned successor and is uniquely qualified to take the leadership reins. I will continue to support Richard Perry at the board level as I pursue other part time opportunities and passions in what I am characterizing as my retirement from full-time luxury industry work.”

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Vitale, Lee’s successor, will take full responsibility for the leadership of the company as CEO, and she will also report to Richard Perry. She joined Barneys New York in 2010 as Chief Merchant/Executive Vice President and was named COO in 2013. In this role, she oversaw all of women’s merchandising, business development, digital strategy, and store operations. The luxury retailer’s e-commerce business also grew exponentially under Vitale.
 
According to Perry, Lee recruited Vitale to be his heir apparent. “In 2012 we put in a formal succession plan for Daniella to become CEO in 2017,” said Perry. Today we are pleased to announce her promotion to CEO and Mark’s move to Executive Chairman.”
 
Vitale added, “I want to thank Mark for being a mentor, partner and friend for the bulk of my career and giving me the opportunity to be part of this incredible company. I am part of an organization with a rich history, extraordinary talent and an exciting future. There is no other place like Barneys and I look forward to driving our continued success.”
 
The succession plan follows the appointment of Marina Larroudé who assumed the role of Barneys New York Fashion Director on January 3, 2017. Barneys also promoted Josh Lieberman to Executive Vice President of Digital in November 2016.