Accelent Lands CEO for JOOR
April 5, 2017 – JOOR, a leading online global marketplace for wholesale fashion buyers, has tapped longtime retail, e-commerce and marketplace executive Kristin Savilia as its new chief executive officer with the assistance of executive search firm Accelent. She replaces Mona Bijoor, who is moving on to pursue other opportunities. Accelent managing director, John Boehmer, led the assignment.
Ms. Savilia previously spent 11 years at XO Group where she grew its paid-vendor base by 57 percent and increased local sales revenue by 68 percent, seamlessly adding more than 250,000 local wedding vendors to TheKnot.com in one year. She was also a key leader in transitioning XO Group into a marketplace for wedding-related vendors. Prior to joining The Knot in 2005, she was an executive director at Linens N Things and regional director and buyer at Macy’s.
“Kristin is a mature, strong-willed, highly intelligent executive with proven GM skills and the ability to quickly understand the needs of the organization,” said Mr. Boehmer. “She is a leader who has proven ability to rapidly scale an organization while at the same time, creating a healthy, highly collaborative and dynamic culture. She also brings many years of experience in Joor’s domain.”
“Kristin’s experience uniquely equips her to lead JOOR as it transforms the fashion retail industry,” said David Liu, founder and chairman of XO Group. “Prior to joining me at XO Group, Kristin implemented new technology initiatives for major retailers to advance their businesses. As president of Local Marketplace at XO, she created a platform for thousands of local retailers and service providers to better serve and acquire customers, through new technology solutions.”
“We are excited to have Kristin on board, and to partner with her as she begins to lead JOOR through its next chapter,” said Michael Brown, a JOOR board member and general partner at Battery Ventures.
JOOR is the premier online, global marketplace for wholesale fashion buyers. The company’s platform connects buyers and sellers online, helping buyers save time, cut costs and better analyze the performance of their inventory through detailed data analytics. Fashion brands use JOOR to get quick, seamless access to potential buyers.
Accelent is an executive talent acquisition and integration firm which serves technology clients in the Internet, e-commerce and digital media space as well as the enterprise SaaS software sectors. The firm has completed a number of searches in the general e-commerce arena for companies such as Borderfree, Fluid and ShopKeep.
Mr. Boehmer has built his professional career around a passion for the technology industry. His executive search experience and business building background has served hundreds of companies in the Internet, e-commerce and digital media space as well as the enterprise and SaaS software sectors. His clients have spanned from venture-backed emerging and mature growth companies to global large-cap media and software concerns. He has completed engagements across almost every organizational function, including CEO, COO, CFO, CTO, and head of sales, marketing and product development.
Technology Sector Heating Up
The booming technology sector, vibrant even when the economy was softer, shows little sign of retreat, according to a host of recruiters who service the talent needs of companies across the field. It continues, in fact, to produce capabilities and services that few imagined just a decade ago.
But a recently conducted survey of global executives by Odgers Berndtson and Forrester Research that revealed 84 percent of companies do not have the necessary talent base to execute a digital transformation.
“The ubiquitous deployment of technology across the globe has made mobile, big data, e-commerce and social media highly competitive sectors for talent,” said Charley Polachi, co-founder and partner of Polachi Access Executive Search. He said he is also seeing a growing frequency and awareness of hacking and data breaches, putting cybersecurity leaders in big demand.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media
