Carter’s Hires Build-A-Bear Boss as President and CEO

Carter’s Inc. (Atlanta) has hired Sharon Price John as President and CEO, effective June 15. That’s four days after John retires after a 13-year stint running Build-A-Bear Workshop (St Louis).

John’s hiring translated into the immediate exit of Douglas Palladini, who was brought on board to run Carter’s in April 2025. Prior to that, Palladini had run a consulting firm for three years, and before that spend nearly two decades Vans, a unit of the VF Corp. (The board has named CFO/COO Richard Westenberger interim President and CEO until John’s arrival.)

The turnover at the top comes as Carter’s – which operates 1000-plus stores mainly under the Carter’s and OshKosh B’gosh banners in the U.S., Canada and Mexico – has been impacted by rising costs due to tariffs on apparel imports; as a result, last fall it laid off 300 corporate workers and began closing roughly 150 underperforming stores.

Those steps helped Carter’s achieve some modest growth in reporting results in late February for its most recent fiscal year. “While we’re encouraged by our progress, much work remains,” Palladini said in the news release on those results.

John is just who Carter’s needs at this pivotal moment, leaders at the retailer say.

“Sharon has a distinguished track record as a public company CEO and brings substantial and relevant experience in the children’s space,” Gretchen Schar, incoming non-executive chair of Carter’s board, said in a news release. “Her success in revitalizing Build-A-Bear gives us confidence in her ability to accelerate the work underway at Carter’s and leverage the power of our iconic brands to drive sustainable growth and shareholder value creation. Carter’s is showing solid momentum, and we believe Sharon is the perfect fit to lead the company into the future.”

Added John: “I am delighted to be joining a company with such a proud history and honored to be entrusted with leading it forward at this pivotal moment. As the leader in young children’s apparel, Carter’s enjoys rich brand equity with consumers and is trusted for the quality, style and value of its products. We will remain focused on ensuring that Carter’s continues to meet the evolving needs of today’s families and caregivers.”