Gina Boswell has a big new gig.
The personal and beauty care veteran has been named Chief Executive Officer of Bath & Body Works, Inc., and a member of the Board, effective December 1, 2022.
Gina has more than 30 years of leadership experience, particularly in beauty and personal care. Most recently she was President of Customer Development at Unilever, a post she held from August 2017 to September 2019, where she led multi-billion-dollar revenue delivery across all channels, customers, and categories for Unilever’s largest market. Prior to that she was CEO of UK and Ireland at Unilever from Sept 2015 to August 2017, and EVP Personal Care at Unilever from July 2011 to September 2015. Gina joined Unilever through the acquisition and successful integration of The Alberto Culver Company, where she served as President of Global Brands and led all brand development activities, including global marketing, R&D, consumer insights, and package design. Earlier in her career, Gina held leadership and business development roles at Avon Products, Inc., Ford Motor Company, and The Estée Lauder Companies.
According to Gina’s LinkedIn profile, she has served on the board of many companies over the years, including Beautycounter, ACCO Brands, Wolverine Worldwide, and Manpower Group.
Gina is best known for her deep expertise in sales, marketing, brand-building, and business development and strategy, along with strong operational experience and a demonstrated track record of delivering successful business outcomes. Known as a values-based leader, Gina has led large cross-functional teams both domestically and internationally with a strong focus on team building.
Sarah E. Nash, who has served as Executive Chair of Bath & Body Works’ Board since February 2022, and as interim Chief Executive Officer since May 2022, will remain Executive Chair through the end of the company’s fiscal year on January 28, 2023, at which time she will transition back to Chair of the Board.
“Gina’s customer-centric mindset, multi-channel expertise and passion for building high-performance cultures make her the ideal leader for Bath & Body Works’ next growth chapter,” said Sarah in a statement. “The Board is confident that her industry knowledge and collective skillset will help the Company in continuing to enhance our omni approach, executing our merchandising initiatives, and accelerating growth across channels, categories, and regions to ultimately drive enhanced value for shareholders.”
In a statement, Gina said she sees tremendous potential “to leverage the Bath & Body Works’ deep customer connections, significant product innovation capabilities and vertically integrated supply chain to advance [its] growth and drive shareholder value. I look forward to partnering with the Board, leadership team and the talented associates across the organization to build on and accelerate the company’s leadership as a global omnichannel personal care and home fragrance brand.”
The company reported net sales of $1.6 billion for the second quarter ended July 30, 2022, a decrease of 5 percent, compared to net sales of $1.7 billion for the second quarter ended July 31, 2021, but an increase of 45 percent compared to the second quarter of 2019. Operating income was $241.8 million compared to $384.2 million in 2021. Net income from continuing operations was $120 million compared to $215.3 million in 2021.
To better position the organization for long-term growth and create organizational efficiencies, the company simplified and realigned its operating structure, resulting in the elimination of about 130 roles, the majority of which were leadership positions. The eliminations are expected to result in estimated savings of approximately $30 million in the second half of 2022, prior to any impact from severance.
Bath & Body Works operates more than 1,770 company-operated locations in the U.S. and Canada, and more than 360 international franchised locations to an online storefront at bathandbodyworks.com.
