Coldwater hires new VP

SANDPOINT — Coldwater Creek announced Thursday that, effective Aug. 3, Jerome Jessup will be joining the company as executive vice president and creative director.

In this newly created role, Jessup will report directly to company president and CEO Daniel Griesemer and have functional responsibility for brand management, creative services and visual merchandising

“We are pleased to welcome Jerome to the Coldwater Creek organization,” Griesemer said. “Over the past year we have implemented several key strategic initiatives to improve our business, and we are confident that now is the time to invest in further developing our capabilities. We believe that Jerome will be a great addition to our management team and that his extensive retail experience and creative skills will enable us to further strengthen our brand. Georgia Shonk-Simmons’ exceptional talents and merchandising expertise, combined with Jerome’s insight and direction on the creative and visual aspects of the brand, create a powerful combination that will significantly elevate our assortment and customer experience.”

Jessup is an experienced retail veteran, having spent the last four years running his own fashion collection and consulting practice. Prior to that, he was the senior executive vice president of design and merchandising for Ann Taylor. Jessup also spent ten years with Gap Inc., leading the design and product development functions for Banana Republic as well as for Gap, GapKids, babyGap and GapBody divisions. He started his career as a designer working with brands like Liz Claiborne and Perry Ellis International.