Daily Front Row

2010 October 20

Susan Posen Leaves Zac Posen

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Susan and Zac Posen
NEIL RASMUS/PatrickMcMullan.com View Gallery

(NEW YORK) Zac Posen’s business has always been a family affair, with his mother Susan acting as the company’s chair, sister Alexandra on board, and father Stephen his dedicated supporter. Today, however, Susan Posen announced that she would be leaving the company, a move presumably sparked by the appointment of Susan Davidson as the chief executive officer last month. (Davidson is also the CEO of Scoop NYC, and both companies are owned by The Yucaipa Companies, Ron Burkle’s holding company.) “The company is now poised for a new phase of growth, and I have decided it is time to step aside from my current role as acting CEO and pursue other interests,” said Mrs. Posen in an email to WWD; she will continue, however, to serve as the company’s chair of the board.

Posen has recently been under fire for presenting his eponymous line in Paris for the first time this season, in the Westin ballroom where Yves Saint Laurent used to present his couture collections (his diffusion line, Z Spoke by Zac Posen, showed in New York). Lukewarm reviews—Cathy Horyn wrote, “Mr. Posen’s collection was also a bit generic: a glamorous romp of feathers, sheer, slithery dresses and plume-tipped stilettos. He might as well have hung out a sign that said ‘I ♥Paris!’”—have many speculating that Posen might retreat to New York to show his Fall 2011 collection.

Earlier this year, however, Mrs. Posen, a former corporate lawyer, insisted that the company is on the right track and poised to make its first profit in 2010. “[I’m] pleased to welcome Susan Davidson who has joined us as CEO,” said Mrs. Posen yesterday. “She will now steward the Zac Posen and Z Spoke brands. I look forward to their success and growth.”
EMILY GYBEN