Kingsley Gate Partners Places Chief People Officer for J.Crew Group

May 18, 2021 – Kingsley Gate Partners has placed Jose Davila, former vice president of human resources for Levi Strauss & Co., as chief people officer at J.Crew Group. Mike Bergen, senior partner and global HR practice leader led the search. “Jose is a builder that knows how to creatively transform and grow businesses and HR teams and is particularly strong at creating a framework for managing talent and providing meaningful advice and counsel to leaders at all levels,” said Mr. Bergen. “His experiences, skills, and leadership attributes make him uniquely qualified to help lead the J.Crew and Madewell brands into the future.”

Mr. Davila oversaw Levi Strauss & Co.’s HR leadership team for North America and South America. Previously, he spent more than 10 years at Gap Inc. He held a series of leadership positions, including head of international human resources, head of human resources for Banana Republic, and vice president, human resources for the Gap Brand Stores Organization. “I’m excited to join J.Crew Group as part of the leadership team positioning this iconic brand for the future,” said Mr. Davila. “I’ve always admired the J.Crew and Madewell brands, and the intensely loyal following these brands have generated. I look forward to building on the company’s success and creating an employee value proposition that attracts, motivates, and retains the best talent in the market, allowing us to provide our customers with top-tier products and an unforgettable customer experience.”

New York City-based J.Crew Group is an internationally recognized omnichannel retailer of women’s, men’s, and children’s apparel, shoes and accessories. Founded in 1983, the company operates 152 J.Crew retail stores, 143 Madewell stores, 147 J.Crew Factory stores in nearly every state in the U.S. and maintains J.Crew, Madewell and J.Crew Factory websites.

Respected Recruiters

Founded in 2015, Kingsley Gate Partners recruits senior leadership for private equity and venture capital portfolio businesses and Fortune 100 companies. Headquartered in Dallas, the firm employs consultants and recruiters with expertise in private equity, life sciences, financial services, technology, manufacturing and professional services.

Mr. Bergen, who is based in Kingsley Gate Partners’ New York office, brings nearly 20 years of experience in executive search and an additional decade as a corporate human resources professional prior to his executive search career. He has placed executives and professionals across all industries, geographies and functional areas. Mr. Bergen is a current advisory board member for CHREATE (the Global Consortium to Reimagine HR, Employment Alternatives, Talent, and the Enterprise).

Prior to joining Kingsley Gate Partners, he led the U.S. business for Allegis Partners and was global leader of the firm’s human resources practice as well as a member of its CEO and board practice. Previously, he was a senior client partner in the HR practice of Korn Ferry as well as a contributing senior client partner in that firm’s global sports practice. Prior to this, he co-founded Bergen Briller Group, an HR executive search and talent consulting firm that he led for more than 12 years. Before joining the executive search industry, he held senior HR leadership roles at GE, Citibank and Cigna.

Chief People Officer Recruiting

Executive search firms have been stepping up their efforts to assist companies across the nation to find new chief people officers. Here are a look at few recent searches from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

Diversified Search Group | Koya Partners has been retained by the Museum of Science in Boston to lead its search for a chief people officer. Spearheading the assignment are managing director Beth Schaefer and senior search associate Josyanne Roche. “At this critical time in its history, the Museum of Science is seeking a dynamic, mission-driven leader to serve as the next chief people officer,” said Koya Partners. “The CPO comes to the Museum of Science at an exciting time under new leadership and a renewed commitment to the great opportunity for impact that institutions like the Museum of Science can have in their community and in the world.”

WGNinHR Consultin was recently retained by venture-backed Arena to fills its chief people officer role. Reporting to the CEO, the chief people officer will play a critical partnership role in the company’s growth stages and beyond. The successful candidate will be able to quickly link the business strategy to a newly developed people strategy. She or he will lead major initiatives while ensuring that the company values remain as touchstones that continuously reinforce the desired culture.

Mercedes Chatfield-Taylor, managing partner of the private equity and venture capital practice at Caldwell, recently placed Kelli Koschmann as chief people officer of global revenue enablement technology provider Showpad. Ms. Koschmann brings over 20 years of people leadership experience with businesses including Aon-Hewitt, SRAM and Sittercity. She is passionate about unlocking the potential of organizational talent and empowering others to be their best. Most recently, she led people function at Sittercity, ensuring the organization had the right talent on the team to achieve its mission of making childcare finally work.