Burberry appoints Donald Kohler as President of Burberry Americas 27.07.2015 Burberry has appointed Donald Kohler as President of Burberry Americas. Effective 1st September 2015, Donald will oversee all sales channels, including online, for the full global product offering across the US, Canada, Central and Latin America.


Donald joined Burberry in 2008 as Vice President of Corporate Planning and after two years was promoted to Senior Vice President of Planning. He was appointed to his current position, Chief Merchandising Operations Officer, in December 2013.

Donald will work closely with the Asia and EMEIA teams as part of one global retail team. He will also continue his commercial planning responsibilities as it is further integrated into the organisation globally.

Donald succeeds Jan Heppe who is retiring following 15 years at Burberry. Having led the operations of Burberry's Americas business for 12 years and having been President of the region for the past two and a half years Jan has played a pivotal role in shaping and growing Burberry's retail operations across the region. Recent examples include the opening of landmark Burberry stores in Chicago, San Francisco and LA as Burberry shifted away from being a wholesale to a retail led business.

Burberry Chief Creative and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Bailey said:

'I am thrilled to announce the promotion of Donald Kohler to his new role as President of Burberry Americas. The region is an area of considerable opportunity for us and I am confident that Donald's extensive experience combined with his personal strengths as a great strategic thinker, communicator, connector, executor and leader make him the perfect person to lead the region in its next phase of growth, partnering with myself and Andrew Maag, CEO of EMEIA and Americas.

I would also like to thank Jan for the exceptional contribution that she has made to Burberry over the last 15 years. Jan has played a pivotal role in shaping and growing Burberry's retail operations across the Americas. Her strong leadership and vision have inspired the Americas team to deliver outstanding performance. I wish her every happiness for her extremely well deserved retirement.'

Donald Kohler, commented:

'I am honoured and humbled to be taking on this important new role, especially at such an exciting time for our Americas business. From my time so far at Burberry and also from my previous retailing experience, I understand the intricacies of this important market and the opportunities that lie therein. It is a privilege to help develop the next chapter of this great British brand in the Americas.'

Notes to Editors

Donald will assume the new role on 1st September 2015. Jan Heppe will retire on the 1st October, creating a one-month transition period.

On the Americas region
  • For the FY 2015, the Americas achieved 16% underlying revenue growth and represented 27% of Burberry's global business.
  • The Americas region includes: US, Canada, Central and Latin America.
  • Burberry has 78 mainline stores across the region (US: 62, Canada: 4, Brazil: 8, Mexico: 4)
  • Burberry has franchise stores in: Chile, Colombia, Barbados, Panama and Aruba.
Biography - Donald Kohler
  • Donald joined Burberry in 2008 as Vice President of Corporate Planning and was promoted to Chief Merchandising Operations Officer in December 2013.
  • Donald has over 15 years of specialist merchandise, planning and allocation experience across multiple product categories, including apparel and accessories for women's, men's and childrenswear.
  • Prior to joining Burberry, Donald spent four years with Williams-Sonoma in the US, as Vice President Inventory Planning and Allocation, and GM eCommerce.
  • Previously, Donald spent 11 years at Gap, where he worked across a number of retail markets, including the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan.
  • He has management experience across multiple channels of distribution including: Retail, Catalogue and E-Commerce.
  • Donald started his retailing career in 1990 at Macy's, giving him over 25 years retailing experience in total.
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