BURBERRY ANNOUNCES TOP LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS

Burberry has announced that Leanne Wood will take on the newly created role of chief people and corporate affairs officer and Fumbi Chima will be joining as chief information officer in November. Wood will be responsible for corporate affairs and human resources globally while Chima will oversee the company’s strategic technology development.

“Leanne has a global remit with great strategic importance across our business, brand and culture. I am confident that her incredibly strong and diverse background, coupled with her great strategic vision and inspiring leadership and people skills, will prove to be an amazing asset to Burberry,” said Burberry CEO and chief creative Christopher Bailey in a statement. “The combination of Fumbi’s IT and digital expertise, together with her great dynamism and strong leadership skills, will be a fantastic benefit to our team and business.”

Wood joins Burberry from Diageo, a consumer goods company with a portfolio of drink brands, where she has been group HR director since 2013. Chima joins Burberry from Walmart Asia where she was corporate VP & CIO for Walmart Asia and was responsible for aligning their e-commerce strategies with technologies solutions in the region. She was also recently selected as a member of the United Nations Digital taskforce, working to address the digital economy in Asia.

Bailey added, “Both Leanne and Fumbi will play key roles in Burberry’s leadership team as we begin the implementation of our plans for increased customer focus and product and brand development in the coming years.”