Save E-mail

Send this URL to a friend:

* - Denotes a required field.
Your Name*
Your Email Address*
Friend's Name*
Friend's Email Address*
Subject*
Message*

Print

Copenhagen, Denmark--An executive with the company that operates, among other businesses, two off-price shoe store chains in the United States has been selected as the new CEO of jewelry company Pandora, the Danish jewelry maker announced on Monday.

Björn Gulden is the executive director of the Essen, Germany-headquartered Deichmann Group, which runs 3,000 shoe and sporting goods stores in 25 countries. In addition, he is CEO of the group’s wholly owned retail chains Rack Room Shoes and Off Broadway Shoes, two stores that offer designer shoes at discount prices with locations throughout the United States.

Prior to his time at Deichmann, Gulden was senior vice president of apparel and accessories at Adidas and was part of the management group that took Adidas public in 1995.

Pandora recently went public, launching its initial public offering in September 2010 on the stock exchange in Copenhagen.

“Björn is an outstanding executive who has impressed me with his knowledge and hands-on experience from many years in the retail and wholesale business around the world. We are very happy to welcome him to the company,” Pandora Chairman Allen Leighton said.

Interim CEO Marcello Bottoli will continue in his role until Bjorn takes over the CEO post next year, and Marcello will be the one to report Pandora’s 2011 results on Feb. 21, 2012.

On March 1, 2012, Marcello will become deputy chairman of the Pandora Board of Directors. Current Deputy Chairman Torben Ballegaard Sørensen will continue as a member of the board.

In addition to his time with Deichmann and Adidas, Gulden has served on the board of Helly Hansen in Norway, Dosenbach Schuhe in Switzerland, Ochsner Sport in Switzerland and Van Haren Schoenen in Holland. He currently is on the board of Tchibo Gmbh in Germany and Expert ASA in Norway.

He also was a professional athlete at one time, playing professional soccer for teams in Norway and Germany before a serious injury ended his career.

Born in Switzerland, Gulden is a Norwegian citizen with a bachelor’s from the University of Rogaland in Norway and a Master in Business Administration from Boston’s Babson Graduate School of Business.

He is married with three children.

Pandora has been searching for a new CEO since August, when Mikkel Vendelin Olesen stepped down as the company’s once-solid sales plummeted.