By George Anderson
The company says its just the normal comings and going of people on various career paths, but the timing of recent departures and poor financial results raises the question of whether executives at Gap Inc. are getting out while the getting is good.
The company said on Friday that two of its vice presidents were leaving following an announcement earlier in the month that Andrew Rolfe had chosen to step down as president of Gap's international business unit to take a job with a private equity group. Mr. Rolfe's position would not be replaced.
Another senior merchandising executive, Julie Rosen, left the company last month after being with the Gap for 14 years.
Alan Barocas, the senior vice president of real estate for Gap Inc., is retiring after 25 years with the company.
Felix Carbullido, vice president and general manager of gap.com, also left although no information was immediately available for the reason he was leaving.
Kris Marubio, a spokesperson for Gap, said too much should not be read into the recent executive departures.
"We're a large company," she told Reuters. "At any point in time, executives will come and go. We've recently added great executives to our lineup."
On February 7, Gap Inc. named the former head of Warnaco Group Inc. to run its GapBody business.
Moderator's Comment: Does the number of executives that have left Gap Inc. in recent months suggest bigger problems at the company than have been made public? In general, how are executive changes at headquarters perceived throughout large retail organizations and what does that mean for company performance? - George Anderson - Moderator