J.HILBURN NAMES DAVE DEFEO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Custom-made menswear brand J.Hilburn has announced that Dave DeFeo has been named chief executive officer. DeFeo replaces Andy Janowski who served in the position since April 2018 and will resume his role as chairman of the J.Hilburn board of directors.

“It’s been an investment year focusing on the strategic vision of the company, assembling a world-class leadership team, and positioning the company for aggressive growth,” said Janowski. “With that said, the time is now to hand over those reigns to someone who is incredibly additive to our amazing team. Dave is a passionate and proven leader and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in the business with more experience in the direct sales of luxury apparel.”

DeFeo joins J.Hilburn with more than 25 years in the direct sales industry. Most recently he was the CEO of Worth where he led the brand for more than 10 years, as they significantly grew revenue and earnings. Prior to Worth, he was president and COO of The Longaberger Company, [resident of Doncaster and held leadership roles at Milliken & Company.

DeFeo joins J.Hilburn’s seasoned leadership team, chief operating officer Joe Dixon (former CEO of Size Stream and SVP of Brooks Brothers); chief creative officer Simon Kneen (former EVP of design and creative director for Banana Republic and creative design director for the Retail Brand Alliance setting the direction for Brooks Brothers and Adrienne Vittadini); and Casey Shilling (former VP of Marketing of The Container Store and chief marketing officer of Zoës Kitchen).

“J.Hilburn is a modern-day direct sales business with tremendous upside and I’m thrilled to join this dynamic, leadership team to grow the company,” added DeFeo. “I’m passionate about the vision that Andy has set for the company, the personal stylist network, product development and the commitment to marketing and technology. I look forward to contributing to the organization, to scale it and maintain its position as the leading lifestyle brand for custom-made men’s clothing.”

J.Hilburn is led by an expansive network of nearly 2,000 personal stylists across all 50 states. The company operates four showrooms, as well as online sales at jhilburn.com. The company plans to launch its new fall collection later this month, as well as make continued enhancements to its omnichannel initiatives and digital platforms in the back half of the year.

“The combination of Dave’s strengths and experience in direct selling combined with Andy’s talent in product and brand building is a powerful one-two punch for the company,” said Michael Brown, general partner at Battery Ventures and J.Hilburn board director. “We are excited to see the incredible advancements the company will make in the coming months.”