What: Exemplar Luxury Group has named Gretchen Koback Pursel, former chief people officer at Tiffany & Co., The Wella Company and Equinox, as its new chief people officer, effective September 28.

Why it is important: The succession closes a 15-year chapter in ELG's people leadership just as the company enters a new ownership era, echoing how other department store groups have paired leadership change with people-strategy renewal during transformation.

Exemplar Luxury Group (ELG), the company formerly known as Saks Global, has named Gretchen Koback Pursel as its new chief people officer, effective September 28. Koback Pursel brings HR leadership experience across luxury, beauty and wellness, having previously served as chief people officer at Tiffany & Co., The Wella Company and, most recently, Equinox.

She joins ELG shortly after the company emerged from a six-month Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late June with a healthier balance sheet and new ownership, and succeeds Sarah Garber, who is leaving after 15 years, during which she helped lead the company through its transformation, merger integration and financial restructuring. CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck said Koback Pursel's track record in leading global teams through transformation and building high-performing cultures makes her the right leader to guide ELG's next phase. She will be responsible for developing a people strategy geared toward performance, engagement and retention across the group's banners, which include Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. Koback Pursel said she aims to build a people strategy rooted in belonging as ELG works to define its culture and its place in the future of luxury retail.

IADS Notes:  Koback Pursel's appointment lands as Exemplar Luxury Group works to convert its post-bankruptcy financial reset into durable commercial recovery. The company's emergence from Chapter 11 under its new name, with debt cut by roughly 75% and a streamlined focus on Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, was detailed by WWD in June 2026. More recently, WWD in September 2026 described the group's next test as proving that a cleaner balance sheet can translate into stronger sales, restored luxury relevance and renewed prestige under CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck — the same leadership now bringing in a new people chief. Earlier coverage from BoF in May 2026 traced how van Raemdonck's turnaround relied on cutting debt from $3.4 billion to $1.1 billion and rebuilding vendor trust after a materially smaller store footprint took shape. The CPO transition itself echoes a broader pattern of department stores pairing leadership change with people-strategy renewal during periods of transformation, as seen when Drapers reported in October 2025 on John Lewis Partnership naming Helen Webb as chief people officer to shape its employee-owned culture after an 18-month interim period.

Exemplar Luxury Group names new HR leader