J. Crew names new Chief Customer Officer

J.Crew Group, Inc. has announced that it has named Billy May their new chief customer officer for the J.Crew Brand, effective July 15. As chief customer officer, he will lead customer-facing aspects of the business and be responsible for advancing J.Crew's digital transformation across marketing, loyalty, stores, and ecommerce. May will report to Michael J. Nicholson, interim chief executive officer.

"Billy's significant industry experience across a range of well-known consumer brands, and his track record of innovative leadership in omni-channel marketing will elevate customer engagement across our digital, mobile, and store channels," said Nicholson in a statement. "He brings a collaborative, integrated approach to brand development, and we are looking forward to partnering with him to return J.Crew to profitability and long-term growth."

Billy May named new chief customer officer of J. Crew

"Having spent my career building, scaling, and transforming global businesses, I'm humbled by the opportunity to work alongside J.Crew's leaders as a steward of this iconic brand," said May in a statement. "Customer experience is at the heart of any great retailer, and I am eager to work with this talented team to reignite the brand and more actively engage J.Crew's customers."

May was most recently chief executive officer of Sur La Table, a privately-held retailer based in Seattle. Previously, he was senior vice president and member of the executive leadership team at Abercrombie & Fitch, where he led marketing, direct-to-consumer, and corporate development globally. While at A&F, he established the company's digital presence, scaled its 1 billion dollar ecommerce business, developed an integrated, omni-channel operating model, and launched two branded loyalty programs. Earlier in his career, May served in digital and business leadership roles at Adidas Group and Lowe's Companies. He is a fourth generation retailer who started his career as a management trainee and buyer within the May Department Stores Company.

While May has an impressive resume, he has his work cut out for him. J. Crew has been underperforming and losing customers recently, with many dissatisfied over the design direction of the womenswear collections and those who felt like the brand was becoming too marked up for the quality. Their previous CEO, Jim Brett, left after less than two years as the company struggled to make a turnaround. Perhaps May will finally be the man with the magic formula to save J. Crew.

Photo: J.Crew/Facebook