A Couple of Top Bananas

The Gap Inc. (San Francisco) announced the hiring of Terry Kramer as coo of its Banana Republic division, and the promotion of Julie Rosen to senior vp, merchandising, planning and production, of that division. Both will report to division president Gary Muto.

Kramer, who will be responsible for the field organization, store operations, distribution, company planning and finance, has held numerous senior leadership positions at AirTouch, the company said, including responsibility for its national paging operation, expansion in Europe and corporate strategy and development. Rosen started as a merchandise trainee at Banana Republic 10 years ago. She was promoted last year to vp of women's merchandising. In her new role, she will be responsible for all product categories.

Analysts feel that establishing a chief operating position at Banana Republic is consistent with Gap Inc.'s overall strategy of balancing creative leadership with operating management, both at the corporate level and in each division. A similar change was announced last week with the appointment of Ron Beegle to the new role of coo in the company's Gap division.