Headlines

Fifth & Pacific to Become Kate Spade & Co.

William McComb has resigned as ceo, succeeded by Craig Leavitt

Published

10 years ago

January 10, 2014

steve kaufman

Fifth & Pacific Cos. Inc. (New York) has announced it will change its name to Kate Spade & Co. And Kate Spade ceo Craig Leavitt will replace William McComb at the helm

McComb was head of Fifth & Pacific for seven years, engineering the strategy that has ultimately led to his departure. He took over the former Liz Claiborne Inc., scuttling almost all the brands under the company’s umbrella, including the namesake Liz Claiborne label. The company was reoriented around four “power brands” – Kate Spade, Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand jeans and Mexx. Kate Spade is the last one standing.

“All told, I was a wartime ceo,” McComb told Women’s Wear Daily. “Did we make mistakes? Sure, but there were also things we had to do.”

George Carrara, Fifth & Pacific’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer, will become president of the new company. Deborah Lloyd will remain chief creative officer.

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