Lacoste footwear boss exits after 17 years

Lacoste footwear boss Andy Simister has left the business after more than 17 years as global president of the brand’s footwear division.

Simister, who joined the company in 1996, has left the Pentland-owned brand to explore new commercial opportunities. He will keep his role as a non-executive director at Hunter, in which Pentland is an investor.

Richard Newcombe, vice president of global sales, and Paul Webber, chief financial officer at Lacoste footwear, will cover Simister’s Lacoste responsibilities on an interim basis.

Simister told Drapers the parting was amicable and although he was in “no rush” to find a new position, he was looking for a role within the fashion or footwear industry.

He added: “I am looking forward to the final third of my career and new challenges ahead. I achieved phenomenal success at Lacoste, but it’s a family business and I’m not part of that family so it’s a chance for me to see what else I can achieve in future ventures.”

Pentland chief executive Andy Rubin said Simister had made a “tremendous contribution” to the business, adding the company wished him “great success in his future ventures”.
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