Pier 1 Names New CEO
Pier 1 Imports announced the appointment of Robert Riesbeck as chief executive officer and as a director of the company, effective immediately. Riesbeck will also continue to serve as the retailer’s chief financial officer.
Cheryl Bachelder, who has served as interim CEO since December 2018, has stepped down from that role, and will continue in her position as a member of Pier 1’s board of directors.
Riesbeck has more than 25 years of leadership experience in retail and consumer goods with expertise in both growth and turnaround situations and has served in CEO, COO and CFO roles. He has served as Pier 1’s CFO since July 2019, and previously was CFO of FullBeauty Brands as well as an operating executive at private equity firm Sun Capital Partners.
“Bob has stepped into a leadership role at Pier 1 with a sense of urgency and deep capability and we are thrilled to appoint him as CEO,” said Terry London, chairman of the board. “We thank Cheryl for serving Pier 1 as Interim CEO over the last 10 months. She has made important progress in developing a clear plan and roadmap for success, including assembling a strong team to guide the company into the future. We are pleased that she will continue to play an active role as a member of the board.”
“I welcome the opportunity to take on this expanded role and lead one of the best brands in the home sector forward, continuing the progress that Cheryl set in motion with our fiscal 2020 action plan,” Riesbeck said. “I am excited to be working alongside a highly capable management team and passionate associates to delight our customers and drive the execution of Pier 1’s turnaround plan through fiscal 2020 and beyond.”
Pier 1 also announced the appointment of Donna Colaco as president. Colaco has served as EVP and CCO since December 2018. She will continue to be responsible for merchandising, planning and allocation, marketing, e-commerce and promotion.
“We are pleased to promote Donna to serve as president, in recognition of the tremendous impact she has had on Pier 1 style stories and helping to re-engage the Pier 1 customer with our merchandise,” said Bachelder. “I look forward to her leadership in driving a sales turnaround with compelling merchandise and marketing that bring our loyal customers to our stores and online."