Ascena retail group, inc. confirmed the previously announced retirement of Randy L. Pearce became effective, and announced the appointments of Kate Buggeln as Lead Independent Director and Carrie W. Teffner as a member of ascena’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. Kate Buggeln, a current member of ascena’s Board, succeeds Mr. Pearce as Lead Independent Director. Ms. Buggeln has been a member of ascena’s Board since 2004. She is currently chair of ascena’s Leadership and Corporate Governance Committee and also serves on its Audit Committee. In her added capacity as Lead Independent Director, Ms. Buggeln will preside at executive sessions of the independent directors and serve as liaison between the independent directors and the Chairman of the Board. Ms. Buggeln is a business growth advisor and strategist. She was a Senior Advisor with Irving Place Capital, LP, from 2012 to 2018. Prior to joining Irving Place Capital, Ms. Buggeln was Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for Coach, Inc., where she led strategies to maximize franchise momentum and enter new categories and markets. She also spent many years as a retail consultant at LakeWest Group Ltd. and Coopers & Lybrand LLP, where she advised retail companies on business strategy, operations, e-commerce and supply chain. In addition, ascena has appointed Carrie W. Teffner as a member of its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Ms. Teffner, currently Executive Vice President Finance and Strategic Projects of Crocs, Inc., will assume Mr. Pearce’s role as chair of the Audit Committee, and as a member of the Compensation and Stock Incentive Committee. Ms. Teffner is a tenured retail executive with an extensive 30-year background in strategy and operations. At Crocs, she has led a company-wide transformation to improve quality of revenue and profitability. Prior to joining Crocs in 2015, Ms. Teffner served as EVP and CFO at both PetSmart, Inc., and Weber-Stephen Products LLC. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President and CFO at Timberland and spent 21 years at Sara Lee Corporation in a variety of senior leadership roles.