Alexander Wang has announced that not only is he creative director at his eponymous label, he will also take on the roles of chairman and CEO. He replaces his mother Ying and sister-in-law Aimie, but they will remain board members and shareholders.
The designer founded the brand in 2005 with his brother Dennis Wang. According to Wang, the new plans have been in the pipeline for some time. He told WWD: “My family and I have been preparing for this shift all along and after 11 years, all family members feel the time is right. The family are still board members and give their full support. In addition, executives will gradually be added to the company’s senior management team to support continued growth.”
Wang left his position as creative director at Balenciaga last year to focus solely on his own label. He’s feeling confident that he can balance both creative and business aspects of the company. He added: “The business side has always come naturally to me. With my full-time return to New York, I want to focus on my brand’s strategic growth. Now is the right time to fully synchronise the creative and business aspects of the company and to continue strengthening the dialogue we have with our customers. It has always been my goal to create brand value, and to be a brand with integrity and purpose.”
The company has made a hire from outside of the family. Mary Wang, formerly president of the DKNY brand, joins as executive vice president. Though she fittingly happens to have their same last name. But his aunt, Caroline Wang, has joined as executive vice chairman. She comes from a 30-year career at IBM.
The new CEO follows in the footsteps of Burberry’s Christopher Bailey and Ralph Lauren, both of whom have held the business and creative reigns at their respective brands, though Ralph Lauren stepped down from his CEO role last year.
