Destination Maternity appoints new interim CEO

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jan 5, 2018

Destination Maternity has appointed Melissa Payner-Gregor, an independent director of the company, as interim Chief Executive Officer. 

Payner-Gregor succeeds Allen Weinstein who took on the role in September 2017 and has since stepped down for personal reasons.

Commenting on Payner-Gregor’s appointment, Barry Erdos, Chairman of the Board, stated in a release “we are confident that she and our senior management team will continue our forward progress, as we look for the right chief executive to lead Destination Maternity's next phase of growth."

The Moorestown, New Jersey-based company has also announced the creation of an “Office of the CEO” headed by Payner-Gregor. Working as part of the Office and reporting directly to the new interim CEO are Ronald J. Masciantonio, Destination Maternity’s Executive Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer, David Stern, the company's Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, and Shelley Liebsch, Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Design.
 
Melissa Payner-Gregor has been with the company since August 2009, serving as a director of the Board. She is also currently working as a consultant for a number of retail and e-commerce companies. She previously served as CEO at Bluefly Inc from 2004 to 2012 and returned to work as an advisor for the same brand in 2015. Prior to this, she served in senior management positions with several retailers and consumer product companies, including periods as Chief Executive Officer and President of Spiegel Catalog and President of Chico's FAS.
 
Destination Maternity is the world’s largest designer and retailer of maternity apparel with a network of 1,147 retail locations in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. This network includes 501 stores operating predominantly under the trade names Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod and Destination Maternity. The company also has a series of brand-specific websites through which it sells merchandise and, as of October, 2017, is present in the Middle East, South Korea, Mexico, Israel and India through 208 international franchised locations.
 
The appointment comes after the brand’s last permanent CEO, Anthony Romano, left Destination Maternity by mutual agreement with the Board in September 2017 amidst falling sales. Although the brand’s e-commerce sales rose by 54% in Q3 2017, overall net sales were down to $96.4 million from $102.6 million the previous year.

The company’s search for a new permanent CEO with the support of Kirk Palmer Associates is ongoing. Payner-Gregor’s appointment is effective immediately.