Ralph Lauren announces two senior executive appointments

Ralph Lauren Corporation has announced two senior executive appointments, which the company said would further solidify its leadership team in support of its Way Forward Plan. While Jonathan Bottomley has been named Chief Marketing Officer, a newly created role for the company, Tom Mendenhall has been named Brand President, Men’s Polo, Purple Label and Double RL.

Commenting on the new additions to the leadership team, Ralph Lauren said in a statement, “As we write our next chapter, we continue to add exceptionally strong leaders with the passion, energy, and talent to lead our Company into the future. Both Jonathan and Tom bring a fresh perspective and incredible depth of brand experience to Ralph Lauren.”

Jonathan Bottomley and Tom Mendenhall join Ralph Lauren

The company said, Bottomley will be responsible for evolving Ralph Lauren’s brand voice, leading the global marketing team and building cut-through marketing strategies across the company’s brands and in this newly created role, all men’s brand functions will report into Mendenhall, including design and merchandising, and he will be charged with maximizing brand strength to improve sales growth.

Bottomley joins Ralph Lauren in April from Vice Media, where he served as Chief Strategy Officer of Virtue. Prior to that, he was chief strategy officer and managing partner in the London headquarters of Bartle Bogle Hegarty where he led strategic brand-building efforts for clients across the luxury and consumer lifestyle sectors. He will be a part of the company’s Executive Team and dual report to Valerie Hermann, President of Global Brands and Ralph Lauren, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, on an interim basis.

Mendenhall joins Ralph Lauren from Tom Ford International, where he served as chief operating officer for more than a decade, working alongside Tom Ford to build the brand from its inception. Prior to that, he was a senior vice president at Abercrombie & Fitch. He also spent eight years as worldwide director of merchandising at Gucci. He will also report to Hermann, and will begin with the company on March 29, 2017.

Picture:Ralph Lauren