Dive Brief:

• Fashion and handbag retailer Vera Bradley appointed Coach and Proctor & Gamble alum Martin Layding as its new CFO, effective Thursday, as part of a sweep of executive leadership changes including the departure of the company’s CEO, Jacqueline Ardrey, according to a Wednesday press release. Ardrey will remain with the company to ensure an orderly transition until the end of that month. 
• The Fort Wayne-Indiana-based company, which has launched a national search for Ardrey’s replacement,  appointed another Coach veteran, Ian Bickley, to a newly created position of executive chairman — which is “expected to be a temporary role during the CEO transition” — effective July 7.  
• The leadership shakeup comes as the fashion brand looks to stem growing losses and shore up declining sales. Vera Bradley on Wednesday also reported a net loss from continuing operations of $18.3 million for its fiscal first quarter ended May 3, compared to a net loss of $7.6 million in the prior year period. Citing its executive and board changes, as well as “significant uncertainty surrounding the consumer environment,” Vera Bradley also suspended forward guidance “to allow the new team time to provide input on future strategic and financial expectations,” according to its earnings report.

Dive Insight:

Layding is replacing Michael Schwindle, who stepped down from his position also effective Thursday, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Schwindle is set to remain as an employee through June 30 to help with a smooth transition, according to the filing.

Prior to joining Vera Bradley, Layding most recently served as finance chief for venture-backed edtech company Noodle, according to his LinkedIn profile. His previous experience also includes serving as CFO for print packaging supplier Rohrer Corporation and in various CFO roles for luxury retailer Coach. He began his career at Procter & Gamble.

As CFO for the company, Layding, 54, will receive an annual base salary of $475,000, and will be eligible for a short-term incentive award representing 65% of his base, according to the filing. Upon his employment, he will also receive a long-term incentive grant valued at $525,000, and a cash payment of $150,000. Additionally, for the company’s fiscal 2026, he will receive a long-term incentive grant valued at $500,000, the company said.  

Layding has “a strong track record of driving operational transformation and rapidly scaling businesses in both the public and private domain,” incoming executive chair Bickley said Wednesday during the company’s Q1 2026 earnings call, according to a transcript. “I have previously worked with Marty and look forward to the significant contribution he can make to improving performance and accelerating the pace of change.”

The two executives had overlapping tenures at Coach, with Bickley logging a 25-year career at the brand, including an 11-year stint as its president of Coach International beginning in 2006, according to his LinkedIn profile. Layding, meanwhile, joined the company in 2012 as a division vice president, before assuming roles including CFO of its international business group, CFO, North America, and global CFO before departing in 2018.

Vera Bradley’s reconstituted leadership team will “focus on refining our strategy while driving operational efficiencies and cost savings to improve profitability and performance,” Bickley said Wednesday during the earnings call. The company’s board “believes we must accelerate our transformation and improve our results,” he said.

Separately Robert Hall, the company’s current board chair, will step down from his seat to serve as a director, Vera Bradley said; the retailer has also created a new Strategy and Transformation Committee to “work closely with incoming leadership in shaping the company’s strategic direction and future growth initiatives,” according to the Wednesday release.

Vera Bradley declined to comment beyond its press release.