PRESS RELEASES

Hanold Associates Launches Retail and Luxury Goods Practice, names Lisa Butkus Practice Leader

Hanold Associates HR & Diversity Executive Search has launched its Retail and Luxury Goods Practice and named Lisa Butkus as the Practice Leader. Hanold Associates has led numerous high profile searches for members of this industry, including finding HR, diversity and other leaders for brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Beautycounter, Dick’s Sporting Goods, JC Penney, Patagonia, Tailored Brands and more. Beyond her experience with this impressive client list, Lisa has a unique background and perspective on these industries, having spent six years in luxury retail. After graduating with a degree in Apparel Merchandising, she spent several years as a Buyer before transitioning into recruiting and eventually executive search. Lisa sits on the Advisory Committee for Indiana University’s Retail Merchandising program and has also led discussions on DE&I for the program and industry.

“Starting out on the sales floor and learning the flow of a stock room has been critical to building on my career in retail. My understanding of what’s going on in the industry has allowed me to better work with industry executives to identify strategic leadership needs, and work closer with people versus product, ” said Lisa Butkus.

Lisa, alongside Hanold Associates’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Practice Leader Keri Gavin, recently weighed in on trends in the industry related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for an article published on Business of Fashion. With equity and inclusion at the forefront of national conversation and public policy, the fashion industry is scrambling to hire diversity leaders. But in their haste to address years of falling short, companies must be careful not to do more harm than good.

“It’s important that you’re not tacking it on to someone in HR because you think you need to just ‘have DEI,’ but you’re investing in the work and that person is going to have the resources and horsepower to take on that work.” (Lisa Butkus, Partner, Retail and Luxury Goods Practice Leader.)

“Are you ready for the diversity that you seek? If you are, what happens after you hire this diverse leader; what happens after you continue to build your diverse talent pool?” (Keri Gavin, Partner, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Practice Leader)