Jimmy Choo Confirms New C.E.O.

Jimmy Choo has confirmed that Robert Bensoussan, the current C.E.O., is to be replaced by Joshua Schulman, currently at Kenneth Cole. The announcement that Bensoussan would step down has been anticipated ever since the sale of Jimmy Choo to TowerBrook Capital Partners back in February. Bensoussan, who still holds shares in Jimmy Choo, helped select Schulman.

Schulman is an American, but has had experience in Europe working with Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. The relationship between Tamara Mellon, the president of Jimmy Choo and Bensoussan, was known to be strained, but she's not necessarily going to have an easy ride with Schulman either. People who have worked with him say he's no pushover.

Tamara Mellon

This is just the first C.E.O. Mellon will have to help find this year. In an earlier post, I explained that after she suggested to Harvey Weinstein that he buy Halston, she became a member of Halston's board of directors. As such, she is part of the search for a new C.E.O. for Halston. Some of the other members of the Halston board are James Salter, the C.E.O. of Hilco Consumer Capital, which invested alongside the Weinstein Company; James Ammeen, the C.E.O. of Neema Clothing Company, which sold Halston to Hilco and the Weinstein Co.; and David Feldberg, a Toronto-based businessman who is close to Salter.

Bensoussan is also keeping busy. With the help and the deep pockets of TowerBrook, he's putting together a pounds 500 million ($1 billion) fund to invest in other luxury brands. Back in 2003, Bensoussan told the FT:

British means classical and extravagant. I love this pairing. I go to Jermyn Street and you have such an incredible amount of brands. I always compare British brands to Spanish rioja. For me, Spain has the best wine in the world. We are totally unable to sell it. We don't know how to market it. It is the same thing for the British. The great brands, they don't know how to expand them.

Shop keepers of Jermyn Street, this might be your lucky day.