US footwear retailer Caleres Inc. appointed Natelle Baddeley to the newly created position of Chief Design & Product Officer on Tuesday, effective immediately.
According to the company, in this role she reports to CEO Jay Schmidt and takes over creative leadership for a majority of the group’s brands, including Naturalizer, Vionic, Dr. Scholl’s, Veronica Beard, Vince, Franco Sarto, Blowfish Malibu and LifeStride. She is now responsible for the product strategy in the areas of design, merchandising and innovation as well as for the group’s sustainability efforts.
Baddely joined Caleres in 2018 and held the position of Senior Vice President, Design, Merchandise, and Product Development Strategy until her recently announced promotion. With the creation of her new position, the group is “underscoring its commitment to placing design and product innovation at the center of all the company’s activities in order to accelerate the growth of our brands,” explained CEO Schmidt.