California Apparel News

Lenzing AG CEO Stefan Doboczky will not renew his contract ending the third quarter of 2021, according to an announcement by the Austrian fiber firm’s supervisory board. The contract is scheduled to end by mutual agreement on Sept. 30. “The design and implementation of the transformation of Lenzing AG into a global specialty-fiber leader and the positioning of the company as a recognized sustainability champion have been major accomplishments of Stefan Doboczky over the last years,” said chairman of the supervisory board Peter Edelmann. Supervisory-board member Cord Prinzhorn has been appointed interim CEO of Lenzing AG as the company searches for a candidate to permanently fill the role. “Developing and consistently implementing the Lenzing strategy has been the cornerstone of my work in recent years,” said Doboczky.

The California Chamber of Commerce announced Sept. 3 the appointment of Jennifer Barrera to the roles of president and chief executive officer of the business-advocacy organization. Effective Oct. 1, the appointment has Barrera succeeding President and CEO Allan Zaremberg and leaving the role of executive vice president, which she has occupied since 2019. Serving as the CalChamber president and CEO for 23 years, Zaremberg will remain at the organization until the end of 2021. “Jennifer’s experience, her effectiveness in serving CalChamber members and her dedication to improving California’s business climate has been demonstrated consistently throughout her tenure with CalChamber. She will step into the role of president and CEO ready to lead on day one,” said Donna Lucas, chair of the CalChamber board of directors.

Following the Aug. 24 announcement that Chuck’s Vintage, Inc., the Los Angeles and New York retail specialty brand, had been sold to VGTel, Inc., the retailer’s parent company, Green Stream Holdings Inc., announced on Sept. 9 that Chief Executive Officer Jim DiPrima will serve as interim CEO of VGTel. DiPrima will lead the transition through filing the necessary reports for VGTel to affect a Green Stream Holdings Inc. tier while identifying officers and directors to encourage the growth of VGTel. “As both companies now have common control of the day-to-day activities of the two companies, it is the intent, after VGTL becomes current, that we at GSFI intend to acquire shares of VGTL for these services so that our GSFI shareholders will get additional consideration for the transaction,” DiPrima said. “The initial consideration was the assumption of certain liabilities.”

Accelerating Circularity, the organization committed to supporting a circular textile supply-chain model that steers waste away from landfills and into a system that relies on recycling measures, announced additions to its United States steering committee. Eastman and Milliken & Company were announced as members to the committee, which strategizes and guides the U.S. efforts of accelerating circularity. Members of the committee include Gap Inc., Giotex, Gr3n, Lenzing, Nike, Target, VF Corp. and Unifi. Eastman and Milliken & Company will provide support to chemical-recycling options and textile-manufacturing capabilities during the project’s trial phase.