Kenneth Cole Names Ceo

Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. (New York) has appointed company veteran Paul Blum ceo. Blum, who worked for the company in the 1990s, was hired in March as vice chairman. He will report to Kenneth Cole, who will continue as chairman and chief creative officer, maintaining his creative role over design and advertising.

“Since the beginning of our partnership 20 years ago, Paul and I have developed a tremendous ability to collaborate and achieve results,” says Cole. “With his deep knowledge of our brands and businesses, we are excited to restart this partnership and benefit from his broad range of experience. We look forward to demonstrating our capabilities as we emerge from a long period of restructuring, and to reinvigorate our plans for growth.”

Blum most recently held the position of ceo at luxury jewelry company David Yurman Inc. Prior to that, he spent 15 years at Kenneth Cole, as executive vp, before being promoted in 1994 to president and coo.

“I am excited and enthusiastic about returning to Kenneth Cole at such a great time for the company,” says Blum. “I look forward to working with Kenneth again and the very talented management team to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities to leverage its strength, and unique heritage in the global marketplace”

Kenneth Cole Productions designs, sources and markets a range of footwear, handbags, apparel and accessories under the brand names Kenneth Cole New York, Kenneth Cole Reaction, Unlisted and Le Tigre, as well as footwear under the proprietary trademark Gentle Souls.