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Fort Wayne-based Vera Bradley Inc. announced Wednesday that CEO Jackie Ardrey will step down at the end of July, in addition to other executive leadership changes.
The announcement comes as the handbag and luggage designer reported a fiscal first-quarter loss of $33.5 million, compared with a loss of $8.1 million during the same period last year.
Ardrey was announced as Vera Bradley’s next CEO in September 2022 to replace retiring longtime exec Robert Wallstrom. She officially took over the job the following November. The following year, she launched “Project Restoration,” a strategic initiative to return the brand to profitability.
The initiative has seen ups and downs over the last two years. The company turned a full-year profit in fiscal 2024 but returned to a full-year loss in fiscal 2025.
Ardrey did not provide a reason for her departure, only saying in a news release that she wanted to “thank the board and our amazing associates for their support and look forward to seeing Vera Bradley’s growth journey ahead.”
Last December, Puerto Rico-based Fund 1 Investments LLC, which said it is Vera Bradley’s largest shareholder, called on the company’s board of directors to consider strategic alternatives to bring the retail brand back to profitability.
In January, Vera Bradley announced an additional strategic cost efficiency initiative aimed at reducing annual costs by $20 million. Two months later, the company said it was selling its Pura Vida business. That deal closed at the end of March.
As part of the leadership change, Vera Bradley has tapped Ian Bickley to assume the newly created role of executive chairman, as well as chairman of the company’s board of directors, effective July 7. The role is designed to “provide leadership and guidance during the CEO transition.”
Bickley was named to the Vera Bradley board last November. He previously served as president of the international group for Coach, as well as interim CEO of the Body Shop.
Vera Bradley said the executive chairman role is expected to be temporary while a national search for a new CEO gets underway.
“Since joining the board, Ian has demonstrated a strong command of our industry in addition to the challenges of Vera Bradley’s ongoing transformation,” current board Chairman Robert Hall said in the release. “I am grateful for Mr. Bickley’s willingness to lend his extensive expertise, including in turnaround situations, to take on an executive leadership role during the CEO transition. I also want to thank Jackie for her dedication in helping position Vera Bradley for its next chapter in its transformation journey.”
The company said Hall will step down as board chairman but will remain as a director.
Additionally, Vera Bradley has hired Marty Layding to serve as its new chief financial officer, beginning Thursday. Layding previously served as a divisional CFO for the Coach brand. The company’s current CFO, Michael Schwindle, said he will depart Vera Bradley on June 30.
The Vera Bradley board has also established a new Strategy and Transformation Committee designed to work with the incoming leadership team to shape the company’s strategic direction and future growth initiatives.
“I look forward to continuing the company’s transformation,” Bickley said in the release. “I will be working closely with the Strategy and Transformation Committee and our new CEO to refine our strategy and drive acceleration of the company’s transformation.”
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The Vera Bradley trend/era has been over for quite some time, I think – now the financials confirm it.
Thus the need to continually “reinvent “ yourself and the brand in the marketplace, similar to what Angela Ahrendts did with Burberry, and to a lesser extent, Apple.