Capri Holdings hires former Walgreens exec as CIO

Dive Brief:

• Capri Holdings, the luxury fashion group that owns Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors, has appointed Alejandro Martinez-Galindo to serve as its chief information officer, according to a Tuesday press release. 

• Martinez-Galindo will report to Thomas Edwards, executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief operating officer. He will step into his new role on Monday, the company said.

• Before joining Capri Holdings, he has held executive roles at various companies across the retail, automotive and pharmaceutical industries. Martinez-Galindo was most recently the CIO of Walgreens and was also previously CIO at General Motors, according to the press release.

Dive Insight:

As Martinez-Galindo steps into his new role at Capri Holdings, he leaves behind his previous position as CIO of Walgreens, where he was responsible for leading a "comprehensive transformation of the company's retail digital platform." 

As the company has worked to improve its digital offerings, Walgreens in November revamped its app and loyalty program, introducing features like curbside and drive-thru pickup, and appointment booking. In December, the drugstore chain debuted the Walgreens Advertising Group, a retail media network that provides marketers with first-party customer data to improve personalization. The company also enlisted Instacart in February to expand its same-day delivery capabilities. 

Martinez-Galindo is not the only C-suite member to leave Walgreens recently: CEO Stefano Pessina stepped down in July. At Capri Holdings, the luxury fashion company is seeking to harness Martinez-Galindo's experience with leading digital transformations, enterprise system rollouts and data analytics innovation, Edwards said in a statement. Martinez-Galindo will help "accelerate Capri Holdings' continued digital and e-commerce evolution."

As Walgreens and Capri Holdings shake up their leadership, other companies, including Bed Bath & Beyond, David's Bridal, Rent the Runway and Foot Locker, have also brought on CTOs or CIOs to help modernize their digital operations. 

"Building on the dramatic increase in consumer engagement Capri's luxury brands are currently experiencing, I believe there is a unique opportunity to accelerate this trend leveraging the convergence of technology and customer experience across all touch points," Martinez-Galindo said in a statement.