Burberry Appoints Jan Heppe

Burberry has named Jan Heppe president of the Americas. She succeeds Eugenia Ulasewicz, who served in the role for 15 years. Ulasewicz will continue as a non-executive director of the Burberry Foundation.

As one of Burberry’s three global presidents (Europe, Asia, Americas), Heppe will oversee all sales channels, including online, for all global products in the Americas. The region, which accounts for 25 percent of Burberry’s global business covers the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

Heppe joined Burberry in 2001 as vice president of stores for Burberry USA. Since March 2010, she has been chief operating officer for the Americas. During her tenure, she has been instrumental in developing the Americas business and strategically aligning its global positioning across all channels.

Angela Ahrendts, chief executive officer of Burberry, said, “Jan is an outstanding leader with deep operational expertise, and has played a key role in the successful transformation of the Burberry business in the region over the past decade. As an established member of our global senior executive team, Jan is ideally placed to drive further growth in the Americas, as we continue to realize the potential of existing channels and new markets in the region.”

Ahrendts added, “We thank Eugenia for her amazing partnership, the wonderful team and relationships that she has built. We wish her well in her retirement. We are [pleased] that she will continue to remain a non-executive director of the Burberry Foundation.”

Prior to joining Burberry in 1998, Ulasewicz was senior vice president of Saks Inc. Earlier, she was president and ceo of Galeries Lafayette in New York, where she opened the first and only branch of the French department store group in America. She began her career in the training program at Bloomingdale’s, where she spent 14 years in various merchandising and store assignments, rising to regional vice president/stores.