On November 1, True Religion announced that its board of directors has appointed board member Chelsea A. Grayson as its interim chief executive officer, following former CEO John Ermatinger’s decision to retire from the company. As a result of that appointment, Ms. Grayson will step down as the chair of the Audit Committee but will continue to serve on True Religion’s board of directors.
“As a board member for the past year, Chelsea has been instrumental in helping True Religion evolve the brand,” said Gene Davis, chair of the True Religion board, “We are fortunate to have someone of Chelsea’s caliber and experience step up to lead the company as we continue to innovate our products and customer experience. In addition, we would also like to recognize and thank John for his incredible leadership and dedication to the brand.”
Ms. Grayson said, “As a Los Angeles native, I am honored to have been chosen to lead an iconic brand like Los Angeles-based True Religion. I look forward to continuing the momentum started with recent initiatives like adding Bella Hadid as a millennial face of the brand and our partnership with global sports juggernaut, Manchester United.”
While Ms. Grayson serves as interim CEO, True Religion intends to conduct a process to identify a permanent CEO.
Before joining True Religion’s board of directors last year, Chelsea Grayson was the CEO and a board member of American Apparel. She also sits on the board of directors of Delta Dental of California (where she is a member of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee), and the advisory board of Marca Global.
