When Sonia Syngal abruptly ceded her two-year corner office post at Gap Inc. in July to an interim CEO amid supply-chain chaos, a Kanye West feud, and chronic sales declines, there was a sense of déjà vu in the retail industry. After all, her predecessor, Art Peck, had also been ousted suddenly in late 2019, after which the CEO role was again held by an interim for a few months.
Gap Inc., which also owns Athleta, Banana Republic, and Old Navy, is hardly the only retailer looking for a permanent CEO in a drawn-out search for someone with the hoped-for Midas touch. The RealReal's founder Julie Wainwright stepped down last June as CEO of the luxury resale site, following a tenure that saw profitability drop lower than that of peers, and has yet to be replaced. Similarly, Steve Rendle, former CEO of the North Face and Vans parent company VF, unexpectedly stepped down in December. Investors had tired of Vans’ sales slump and a 2020 acquisition of streetwear brand Supreme that failed to yield promised benefits.
