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Tirnauer Joins Wet Seal as CFO
Judd P. Tirnauer was appointed to the positions of chief financial officer and executive vice president at The Wet Seal LLC, the Irvine, Calif., women’s retailer, which is staging a comeback.
Tirnauer will report to Melanie B. Cox, Wet Seal’s chief executive officer. His job becomes effective May 1. He replaces Thomas R. Hillenbrandt, the current Wet Seal CFO. Hillenbrandt will be pursuing new endeavors, Cox said.
“Judd is a proven financial executive with an exceptional track record in retail," Cox said. “His addition is consistent with our strategy to rebuild and return Wet Seal to its former position of prominence among its target customer base of young women 18 to 24. Judd is the right person to assist me in leading Wet Seal at this stage of our transformation, and we look forward to his contributions to our success."
Tirnauer most recently served as chief financial officer for Destination Maternity. He led the finance team. He also saw various operational areas including real estate, procurement and marketing partnerships.
“Wet Seal is at a turning point, and I am excited to join Melanie and her team to help execute the strategy and design reboot,” Tirnauer said. “I look forward to applying my financial and operational expertise as we work to connect customers with the new, reinvigorated Wet Seal brand.”
Wet Seal emerged from bankruptcy in fall 2015. Since then, Cox has been hiring a new staff and giving the brand a look which she said was a return to the original DNA of the brand. It’s a California-casual look, that is not rooted in surf.
