Scarpa Named Claiborne COO

NEW YORK – Michael Scarpa has been promoted to chief operating officer of Liz Claiborne.

Scarpa has been senior vice president of finance and distribution and chief financial officer of the company. In his new post, he retains responsibility for finance, distribution and logistics and adds manufacturing, sourcing and information systems. He will continue as CFO until the New York-based company names a successor.

Scarpa, who joined Claiborne in 1983, will continue to report to William McComb, chief executive officer of the firm. McComb succeeded Paul Charron as CEO last month. The post of COO has been vacant since Charron occupied it in the early 1990s.

“The environment in which we operate is dynamic and shows no signs of slowing down,” McComb said in a release. “To compete effectively in such a climate, we felt strongly it was important to have one executive overseeing product movement from start to finish, someone who could take a holistic approach to the back end, yet understand the challenges of the front end. In Mike, we have found that person.”

In addition to the flagship Liz Claiborne brand, the company owns a wide portfolio of names, including Dana Buchman, Enyce, Juicy Couture, Kate Spade, Lucky and Sigrid Olsen.