As per Fashion’s Newest CEO-the annual report published by Nextail, in 2021, fashion companies chose to hire CEOs with deep sector knowledge and leadership experience, as they sought to create a strong platform for growth and digital transformation.

Published with a view to highlight the expectations for 2022, the report analyzes all the major hires in the sector. It highlights the broadly conservative choices businesses have made when changing leadership in 2021. Furthermore, the appointments have been predominantly male and have, in the majority of cases, operational experience, as opposed to design or marketing.

With lockdowns and restrictions still in place at the start of the year, and the effects of the pandemic being felt throughout, it seems fashion businesses have chosen the tried and tested executive. These seasoned executives can have an immediate impact as they can steady the business and reset the foundations. It is also worth noting that there were 20% fewer new CEOs appointed in 2021 versus 2020.

Over 90 per cent of the incoming CEOs had fashion sector experience and almost 75 per cent of them had C Suite experience. Of the reasons given for hiring a particular candidate the most cited option was to deliver digital transformation and growth.

The luxury market was particularly active in bringing in new CEOs, with an 80 per cent YoY growth in appointments and accounting for close to 20 per cent of the total.