Michael J. Kowalski

Taylor Knight is an associate content editor for Target Marketing and Total Retail. She enjoys writing and creating video content to interact with an audience.

Tiffany & Co. announced Monday that its longtime chief executive officer, Michael J. Kowalski, will retire effective March 31, 2015. Kowalski, who is also a member of Tiffany's board of directors, will continue to serve on the board in the role of non-executive chairman. Frederic Cumenal, president of the international luxury jewelry retailer, has been named to be the next CEO. Kowalski, 62, joined Tiffany in 1983, became its CEO in 1999, and assumed the role of chairman of the board in 2003.

SHARE: Email Print LinkedIn Facebook Twitter In addition to responsible mining, corporate governance and charitable giving, Tiffany & Co. outlined important reductions in carbon emissions and packaging in its second annual corporate responsibility report. The jewelry retailer reduced United States Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 14.7 percent per square foot from 2006 to 2011, surpassing its 10 percent reduction goal. The Tiffany & Co. New York affiliates headquarters were also consolidated into a LEED-CI Platinum office space. Another large initiative is upgrading it paper and packaging sourcing. At the end of 2011, 100 percent of suppliers

Tiffany & Co. reported profit for the quarter ended Oct. 31 surged 63 percent to $89.7 million compared with $55.1 million in the year-ago period. Rising global sales propelled the strong performance, but the jeweler cautioned that fourth quarter earnings, which include the key holiday selling season, could fall below expectations.

Tiffany & Co. has named Frederic Cumenal as executive vice president, effective March 10. Cumenal will be responsible for the company’s businesses in Asia, Japan, Europe and emerging markets. He will report to chairman and CEO Michael J. Kowalski. He joins Tiffany from the LVMH Group where most recently he was president and CEO of Moët & Chandon, S.A.

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