Herbert Mines Associates Recruits Top HR Executive for PacSun
June 17, 2025 – New York-based retail and consumer focused executive search firm Herbert Mines Associates has helped to recruit Rachel Donahue as vice president of human resources at PacSun. “Rachel brings a wealth of experience in talent strategy, culture-building, and leadership development—and a clear passion for creating environments where people can thrive,” said Brieane Olson, CEO of PacSun. “Her thoughtful, people-first approach will be instrumental as we continue to evolve our brand and strengthen our internal community. We’re excited for the impact she’ll make and grateful to have her join us on this journey. Welcome to the team, Rachel.”
Ms. Donahue brings with her more than two decades of experience leading people strategy across respected retail and fashion brands. Most recently, she served as vice president of people and culture at Aritzia, where she was responsible for talent management, executive development, and shaping the company’s inclusive, high-performance culture. Her prior experience includes senior HR roles at Saks, Tory Burch, and Macy’s, where she supported company-wide transformation initiatives and helped teams navigate periods of rapid change and growth.
In her new role, Ms. Donahue will oversee all aspects of human resources at PacSun, including talent development, organizational effectiveness, and employee engagement.
Pacific Sunwear of California, LLC, commonly known as PacSun, is an American retail clothing brand. The company sells lifestyle apparel, along with swim, footwear and accessories designed for teens and young adults. The company operates 325 stores in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
Last year, PacSun also used Herbert Mines to recruit Aina Konold as its CFO. “Special thanks to Kristin Dennehy and Herbert Mines Associates for your dedication and unwavering support in helping us find such a charismatic and talented leader to join our team,” said Ms. Olson said. Ms. Konold has two decades of experience in specialty apparel retail. Most recently, she was CFO of BowFlex Inc., the fitness training equipment company, where she led finance, strategy, business development and IT functions. She has also held positions at Gap, Inc., notably as senior director of real estate strategy and finance at Old Navy, where she opened about 300 new stores, and as senior director of investor relations. Ms. Konold was the founding CFO of Gap Inc. China, working in Shanghai and opening nearly 200 stores, while launching e-commerce businesses across mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Established in 1978, Herbert Mines is a specialist search firm focusing on the retail, fashion and apparel, beauty, consumer products and services, hospitality, leisure, restaurant, and digital/technology industries. The firm is noted for its C-suite recruiting work. Herbert Mines has conducted upwards of 3,600 searches during the tenure of Hal Reiter, who joined the firm in 1993 as president, and was appointed chairman and chief executive officer in 1998.
Related: Herbert Mines Places CEO at Salad and Go
Brenda Malloy is the firm’s CEO. She brings over 40 years of experience to Herbert Mines Associates. During her career, she has authored numerous articles on retail CEO succession, omnichannel leadership, in addition to being a featured speaker at the National Retail Federation’s annual convention in New York City. Working with leading retailers at the senior most–levels to assemble winning leadership teams, Ms. Malloy primarily recruits board directors, CEOs, and their direct reports for publicly traded, privately held and private equity backed companies spanning vertical specialty, lifestyle and branded retail, off-price/value, grocery, hardlines, mass, and the specialty department store sectors.
Guitar Center Search
Herbert Mines recently helped to recruit Jerry Brandehoff as chief merchandising officer of Guitar Center, the world’s largest retailer of musical instruments. He will be based out of Guitar Center’s Support Center in Westlake Village, CA. “Jerry is a dynamic and inspirational retail executive with over 30 years of experience leading merchandising and product teams for world-class global brands,” said Gabe Dalporto, CEO of Guitar Center. “Through his leadership style, he is dedicated to empowering teams, driving performance, and fostering collaboration. He was selected after an extensive search, and he stood out as the clear leader to help deliver our critical strategic priorities this year.”
“This is a critically important role as we transform our assortment to serve the serious musician, with the outcome of accelerated revenue growth, margin expansion, improved customer satisfaction, tight inventory management, and ultimately, market share gains,” Mr. Dalporto said.
Mr. Brandehoff joined Guitar Center from Wayfair, where he most recently held the position of chief merchant, as well as additional leadership roles during his tenure. Previously he held leadership positions with Gap Inc, PVH, and Williams Sonoma Inc.
Related: Herbert Mines Associates Recruits Chief Merchandising Officer for Claire’s Holdings
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
