Gap Inc. has chosen Sonia Syngal, the head of its Old Navy business, as CEO, effective March 23.
The move, announced Thursday after the markets closed, comes two months after the San Francisco company nixed its plans to split Old Navy into a separate publicly traded company. Gap stock (NYSE: GAP) was down about 1% in after-hours trading.
With Gap since 2004, Syngal has led Old Navy since 2016 and was slated to become the CEO of the Old Navy spinoff. She is widely credited for rapid growth at Old Navy under her leadership, with the single brand accounting for nearly half of Gap Inc.’s $16.6 billion revenue in 2018. But Old Navy’s growth curve went into reverse in 2019, which complicated Gap’s plans to split it off on its own.
Syngal was named one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the Business Times in 2018.
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At Gap, she will replace Robert Fisher. Fisher, the company’s executive chairman, has been serving as interim CEO since Gap fired Art Peck last November after he was unable to engineer a sales turnaround.
Syngal said her top priority will be “strengthening the performance of the portfolio,” which has struggled under mass transformation of the retail industry. In addition to Gap and Old Navy, the company also owns Banana Republic and a collection of specialty brands, including Athleta, Janie and Jack, Intermix and Hill City.
“It’s an honor to build on this company’s rich heritage and lead our nearly 130,000 employees in transforming our business and operations to successfully compete in the future,” Syngal said in a statement. “I’m committed to fully realizing the potential of our portfolio and the advantage of our scale, with a focus on strengthening the love that our millions of customers have for our brands. To do that, we must better prioritize initiatives and capabilities that will improve execution and drive value creation.”
Since stepping into the top role in 2015, Peck tried to steer the company through some of the most challenging years in its history. Gap’s stock value has plummeted by more than 50 percent in four years due to falling sales, rising inventory levels and significant drops in revenue. The retailer’s stock has continued to slide and is down around 26% since Peck left the company.
The company also announced it has promoted board member Bobby Martin to the role of executive chairman, succeeding Robert Fisher.
“To lead the company into its next chapter, we sought a dynamic leader who could bring a deep respect for our customers and make the decisions necessary to deliver value from our portfolio of brands over the long term,” Fisher said in a statement. “Sonia has all of the characteristics and experiences needed to effectively execute against the work ahead. She is an excellent operator who drives innovation and decisive action, and she leads with both vision and heart.”
The company also announced two new board members: Elizabeth Smith, the former CEO of casual dining and chain restaurant company Bloomin’ Brands, and Amy Miles, the CEO of Regal Entertainment Group, one of the world’s largest theater chains.
Source: Bizjournals