Macy’s Names Thomas J. Edwards Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer, Succeeding Adrian Mitchell

David Moin
·4 min read

In a surprise move, Adrian Mitchell, Macy’s Inc.’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer, is leaving the company and is being succeeded by Capri Holdings executive Thomas J. Edwards.

Mitchell played a major role in guiding the retailer through the pandemic and in orchestrating Macy’s ongoing three-year “Bold New Chapter” turnaround strategy revolving around store closings investments in ongoing stores, luxury growth and rolling out new retail formats.

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Mitchell, essentially the second-in-command at Macy’s reporting to chairman and chief executive officer Tony Spring, will stay with the company until June 21. It’s not clear whether he has a new job.

Adrian Mitchell
Adrian Mitchell

“I would like to thank Adrian for his years of service to Macy’s,” Spring said in a statement Tuesday morning. “He played a vital role in steering us through the pandemic and laying the groundwork for our ongoing revitalization while significantly strengthening our financial position. Under his purview, we have modernized our financial operations and developed new operational capabilities to more efficiently and effectively serve our customers.”

On June 22, Edwards will start his new job as Macy’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer. At Capri — which owns Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo — Edwards held the same two titles.

“With these changes, we complete a purposeful evolution of the Macy’s Inc. leadership team and I am confident that we have the right talent to support the return of Macy’s Inc. to enterprise growth,” Spring said.

Thomas J. Edwards
Thomas J. Edwards

The news gave a lift to Macy’s stock which closed up 2.35 percent to $12.87 Tuesday.

Mitchell’s departure and Edwards’ arrival triggered senior-level reporting changes. Barbie Cameron, Macy’s chief stores officer, will report directly to Spring. She previously reported to Mitchell. Maly Bernstein, Bluemercury’s CEO, will report to Olivier Bron, the CEO of Bloomingdale’s, starting May 1. She has been reporting to Spring. And Bryan Riviere, the senior vice president of sourcing, product development and production, will report directly to Macy’s chief merchandising officer Nata Dvir, starting June 22. He currently reports to Mitchell.

At Capri, Edwards has been leading the finance, information technology and supply chain teams. In his eight years at the company, he spearheaded the acquisition and integration of Versace and Jimmy Choo and implemented shared systems and capabilities, including a global enterprise resource platform, and generated significant savings across brands, functions and regions, Macy’s indicated in its announcement.

At Capri, a search for Edwards’ successor has begun. Rajal Mehta, the CFO of Michael Kors, will assume the role of interim CFO for Capri. Additionally, Patricia Gabriel, senior vice president, chief supply chain officer of Capri, will continue to lead global supply chain and operations. Mehta and Gabriel will report to John D. Idol, Capri’s chairman and CEO.

Before joining Capri, Edwards was executive vice president and CFO of Chili’s owner Brinker International Inc. Earlier, he held finance and operations positions at Wyndham Hotel Group, Kraft Foods and Nabisco Food Service Company.

Since becoming Macy’s CEO, Spring’s “evolution” of the senior-level management team involved several changes including naming Cameron as chief stores officer, Keith Credendino as chief information officer, Sharon Otterman as chief marketing officer, Tracy Preston as chief legal officer and corporate secretary, Bron as CEO of Bloomingdale’s, and Max Magni as chief customer and digital officer.

The team also includes Danielle Kirgan, chief human resources and corporate affairs officer, and Dvir, the chief merchandising officer at the Macy’s division.

“I am excited to join the iconic Macy’s Inc. organization, whose talented colleagues have built brands that are an integral part of the fabric of the American consumer experience,” Edwards said in his prepared statement. “I firmly believe that the foundation of the Bold New Chapter Strategy has tremendous potential to strengthen the business and create significant value for our shareholders.”

Macy’s showed progress in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 by turning profitable and posting a small comparable sales gain. Net income was $342 million, compared to a loss of $128 million, in the year-ago period. Operating income rose to $500 million, from a loss of $149 million in the year-ago period. Net sales decreased 4.3 percent to $7.8 billion, though comparable sales were up 0.2 percent on an owned, licensed and marketplace basis. The fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 included 13 weeks, while fiscal 2023’s fourth quarter had 14 weeks.

The company is projecting 2025 sales of between $21 billion and $21.4 billion or about $1 billion less than the $22.3 billion generated in 2024. Comparable sales are projected down 2 percent to 0.5 percent.

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