Chief Executive, St. John Knits International Inc.
DAY JOB: Leader of OC luxury apparel maker founded in 1962 by Bob and Marie Gray. Company has more than 1,500 workers and 37 company-owned stores.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: St. John’s factory was reworked to accommodate the production of face masks and gowns. Company was able to produce as many as 85,000 masks or 11,000 gowns weekly. A good portion of what was initially produced has been donated, alongside medical grade masks, to essential workers.
NOTABLE: Corporate employees transitioned to working from home. Some factory workers were brought back to sew masks and the company’s Baja facility reopened in May with St. John having implemented a number of measures including social distancing and temperature checks. Business also made good use of digital tools, channels to stay in touch with consumers—efforts that were expected to continue post-pandemic.
QUOTABLE: “It’s really impossible to have been closed for two months and not have some sort of negative impact, and the impact is not simply our business-to-consumer business, but we have [retail] partners out there who we’ve been working with for many years and their challenges become our challenges. There will be a shifting of consumer values and needs,” Cohen told the Business Journal in May.
FAST FACTS: Tapped in 2018 to lead St. John. Previously served as executive vice president of customer experience for PetSmart Inc. Before that, held several positions in the fashion, retail world including New York & Co., Payless Shoesource Inc. and Esprit de Corp.
