At a Glance:

  • Fashion handbag retailer Vera Bradley announced on Wednesday that it has appointed Martin Layding, a former executive at Coach and Procter & Gamble, as its new chief financial officer, effective Thursday. The appointment is part of a series of executive changes at the company, including the departure of CEO Jacqueline Ardrey. According to a press release, Ardrey will remain with the company through the end of this month to ensure a smooth transition.
  • The Fort Wayne, Indiana-based company has launched a nationwide search for Ardrey's successor, while also appointing another Coach veteran, Ian Bickley, to the newly created role of executive chairman, a position expected to be temporary during the CEO transition, effective July 7.
  • The management changes come as the fashion brand seeks to curb widening losses and boost declining sales. Vera Bradley also reported on Wednesday a net loss from continuing operations of $18.3 million for the fiscal first quarter ended May 3, compared with a net loss of $7.6 million in the same period last year. Given the executive and board changes, as well as "significant uncertainty in the consumer environment," Vera Bradley also suspended its forward guidance to give the new team time to provide input on future strategy and financial expectations.

Deeper Dive:

Layding succeeds Michael Schwindle, who also stepped down on Thursday. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Schwindle will remain as an employee through June 30 to assist with a smooth handover.

Before joining Vera Bradley, Layding most recently served as the head of finance at Noodle, a venture-backed education technology company (according to his LinkedIn profile). He previously served as CFO of Rohrer Corporation, a printing and packaging supplier, and held multiple CFO roles at the luxury brand Coach. He began his career at Procter & Gamble.

According to the filing, Layding, 54, will receive an annual base salary of $475,000 as CFO and will be eligible for a short-term incentive award equal to 65% of his base salary. Upon joining, he will also receive a long-term incentive grant valued at $525,000, as well as a cash payment of $150,000. Additionally, the company said that in fiscal 2026, he will receive a long-term incentive grant valued at $500,000.

Incoming Executive Chairman Bickley said on Wednesday during the company's fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings call that Layding has "an outstanding track record of driving operational transformation and rapidly scaling businesses, both in the public and private arenas." According to the meeting transcript, Bickley said, "I have worked with Marty and look forward to his significant contributions to improving performance and accelerating the pace of change."

The two executives' tenures at Coach overlapped: Bickley spent 25 years at the brand, including 11 years as president of Coach International starting in 2006 (according to his LinkedIn profile). Layding joined Coach in 2012 as a divisional vice president, then served as CFO of the international business group, CFO of North America, and global CFO, until leaving in 2018.

Vera Bradley's restructured leadership team will "focus on refining strategy while driving operational efficiency and cost savings to enhance profitability and performance," Bickley said on the earnings call Wednesday. He said the company's board "believes we must accelerate the transformation and improve results."

Separately, current board chairman Robert Hall will step down from the chairman role but will remain as a director. Vera Bradley also established a new Strategy and Transformation Committee to "work closely with new leadership to shape the company's strategic direction and future growth plans" (according to Wednesday's press release).

Vera Bradley declined to comment beyond the press release.