Yoox Net-a-Porter appoints chief people officer

Online luxury fashion retail group Yoox Net-a-Porter has named Deborah Lee as its chief people officer, responsible for the group’s global human resources vision to “engage talent through innovative culture, leadership and management strategies”.

Lee, who most recently served as chief HR officer at BT Global Services, will start her new role in January 2017, where she will join the group executive team and will report to Federico Marchetti, chief executive officer of Yoox Net-a-Porter.

Her role will be based in Yoox Net-a-Porter’s London offices, where she will manage and grow the global HR team with direct reports in Milan, Bologna, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Lee’s appointment is part of Yoox Net-a-Porter’s commitment to its growth plan unveiled in July 2016, which emphasised the Group’s overarching drivers, customer centricity and mobile-first innovation, with people at the heart of its strategies.

Commenting on her new role, Lee said: “I’m thrilled to be a part of the company that introduced consumers to online shopping for luxury 16 years ago. Today, Yoox Net-a-Porter group is in an exciting position; leading the market and with a clear cut strategy to grow.”

Marchetti added: “Building an outstanding Leadership Team has been at the top of my agenda since our Group was born close to a year ago and a lot of our energy went into identifying the perfect candidate for this crucial role.

“Deborah has a proven track-record at the highest level in a successful tech-driven organisation. This experience, coupled with her international background, will be invaluable: people are at the heart of this business and it is critical that we give them every opportunity to develop and grow for future success.”

Image: courtesy of Yoox Net-a-Porter