Gap Announces New Chief
SAN FRANCISCO – The board of directors for Gap Inc. selected Glenn Murphy as the clothing giant’s new chairman and chief executive officer yesterday. His predecessor, interim CEO Robert J. Fisher, will remain on the board.
Murphy has more than 20 years of successful retail experience, but not in the apparel business. His previous position was as CEO of the largest pharmacy chain in Canada. He will fill the space vacated by Paul Pressler, who left the company and its board last January.
“The search committee undertook a rigorous process and when we met Glenn the entire board unanimously agreed that we’d found the right leader for our company,” said Adrian Bellamy, the head of the board’s search committee and chairman of The Body Shop International. “His proven retail skills and demonstrated financial results complement the strong brand leaders we have running our core businesses. We are confident he will prove to be a very successful leader of our management team in the years ahead.”
Murphy’s salary will be $1.5 million, plus a sign-on bonus of $1.0 million and performance bonuses projected at 150% of his salary.
In a comment this morning, Goldman Sachs expressed confidence in Murphy’s record, but noted that his lack of apparel experience will compound the already difficult position that the Gap and Old Navy brands are in with regard to their competition and their own large and aging store fleet.
Gap Inc.’s brands are Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Piperlime. The corporation’s fiscal 2006 sales were $15.9 billion.
