The US-based global luxury lifestyle brand announced two internal promotions. Philippa Newman will be promoted to President, Accessories and Footwear, reporting to Anna Bakst, Group President, Accessories and Footwear. In addition, Michele Chan will be promoted to President, Women’s Ready-to-Wear, reporting to Gia Castrogiovanni, Group President, Women’s Ready-to-Wear.

Ms. Newman joined the company in 2003 and currently serves as Senior Vice President, European Sales and Merchandising for Accessories, Footwear, Women’s Ready-to-Wear and Menswear. She was previously Director of Sales for Women’s Collection in the United States. Prior to joining Michael Kors, Ms. Newman held various sales and merchandising positions at Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Alexander McQueen and Tory Burch.

Ms. Chan joined the Company in 2007 and currently serves as Senior Vice President, Retail Merchandising. She was previously Vice President, Retail Merchandising for the Company. Prior to joining Michael Kors, she spent more than a decade in various merchandising positions at Lord & Taylor and Ann Taylor.

John D. Idol, Michael Kors Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are very pleased to announce the promotions of Philippa and Michele, both of whom have already made strong contributions to the Company during their tenures. Philippa has contributed significantly to the growth of our European business over the past seven years, as she worked to solidify partnerships with department stores and specialty stores across the region. Michele has been instrumental in growing our Retail business, as she built the infrastructure in our retail stores both domestically and internationally. The promotions of Philippa and Michele are the result of our succession planning process as well as our training and development initiatives designed to foster a team of best-in-class leaders.”

Michael Kors is a world-renowned, award-winning designer of luxury accessories and ready-to-wear. His namesake company was established in 1981 and currently produces a range of products, including accessories, footwear, watches, jewelry, ready-to-wear and a full line of fragrance products.