Avenue names former J. Crew and Liz Claiborne retail vet as new CEO

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
May 16, 2018

Plus-size retailer Avenue has named retail veteran Mark Walsh as its new CEO as part of its corporate leadership succession plan. Walsh joins four other C-suite executive appointments made by the company in the past six months.

Walsh began advising the company in 2017 as a Board member. Prior to joining Avenue, Walsh was CEO of Bob's Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports.

Walsh was group president of Liz Claiborne, and EVP of e-commerce and strategic planning at J. Crew Group, Inc. He has also held executive marketing and finance roles for Citibank and Pepsico.

Gregory L. Segall, of Versa Capital Management, LLC, Avenue's owner said in a statement, “Having worked closely with Mark over the years, we have first-hand knowledge of his ability to collaboratively lead organizations and grow businesses." He added that the Board is looking to Walsh to lead the company through its upcoming growth phase.

Walsh joins a new executive management team at Avenue. In November of 2017, Nancy Viall was appointed as chief merchandising officer and Steven Silbaugh as chief marketing officer. Recently, Scott Hampson was named chief operating officer and David Rhoads as chief financial officer.

Walsh replaces outgoing CEO Liz Williams, who Williams said, "transformed the Company from a stagnant retailer with many underutilized assets into a profitable omni-channel enterprise."

Avenue offers plus-size women's apparel, footwear and accessories in sizes 14-32. Avenue is owned by private equity investment firm Versa.