MANUFACTURING
True Religion Adds to Management Team
The new owners of True Religion, taken private nearly three months ago, have added two top management team members to the premium-denim company, based in Vernon, Calif.
Rosella Giuliani, formerly with Gap Inc. and 7 For All Mankind, has been appointed vice president of merchandising. The appointment, announced on Oct. 23, is effective immediately. She reports to Chief Merchandising Officer Lynne Koplin and will be working with the company’s new creative director, Gary Harvey, to shape True Religion’s merchandising across the company’s various platforms.
Joining the denim company on Nov. 4 will be Steve Horak, whose job title is senior vice president of planning and allocation. He will be responsible for the brand’s product distribution and will report to Eric Bauer, the company’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
Giuliani was previously the creative director and vice president of merchandising and design for the 1969 denim label at Gap Inc. Before that, she was vice president of global merchandising and design at 7 For All Mankind, another Los Angeles premium-denim label.
“I am thrilled to join True Religion at such a key moment in the company’s evolution and to work with such an exceptional and forward-looking team, including many people I’ve worked with previously,” Giuliani said. “Denim is my passion, and I look forward to building on True Religion’s strong reputation in the premium space to reach our customers.”
Horak previously worked at Guess Inc. for 12 years, most recently as senior vice president of global planning and allocation. He has held senior planning and allocation positions at The Wet Seal, Warner Brothers Studio Stores and Victoria’s Secret.
At a July 29 special meeting, True Religion shareholders approved the company’s acquisition by TowerBrook Capital Partners, based in New York and London. The purchase price was $32 a share, or $824 million.
True Religion was founded as a blue-jeans company in 2002 by Jeff Lubell and his now ex-wife, Kym Lubell Gold.
One day after completing its acquisition of True Religion, TowerBrook Capital Partners named David Conn as the blue-jeans maker’s chief executive officer. Most recently, Conn was president of VF Corp.’s retail licensed brand groups.
