Temporarily taking over the role of CEO will be Bernd Beetz, currently the Executive Chairman of the Board of the company he partially owns. According to the report, the search for a new CEO will start immediately.

“We have made tremendous progress to further strengthen this iconic brand and, on behalf of the board, wish Geoffroy the best in his future endeavors,” Beetz said. “The business remains well capitalised and positioned as we continue to execute our global expansion strategy.”

Bernd Beetz

Beetz, who also joined the company in 2013, hired van Raemdonck from Louis Vuitton, where he was President, South Europe, based in Milan. The Louis Vuitton Executive succeeded Glenn McMahon, who held the Chief Executive position for six years.

Beetz, who was CEO of Coty for 11 years, grew the company’s revenues from US 1.3 billion to US 4.7 billion and expanded the company’s presence to 135 countries. Recently he was named to the Board of Directors of Quiksilver, a surfwear brand based in Huntington Beach, CA. He left Coty to invest in St. John along with Chinese conglomerate Fosun International.

St. John

St. John, which employs 2,500 people, manufactures the majority of its clothing collection at its Irvine facility, where scores of knitting machines are located.

The company was founded in 1962 by Bob and Marie Gray, who started out knitting a shift dress for herself and then expanded to knit suits and other items to capture a well-to-do customer who didn’t mind paying US 2,000 to US 2,500 for an outfit. About two-thirds of the collection is daywear and the rest is evening wear. Marie Gray is still on the company’s board. Bob Gray died in 2012.

St. John has 24 company-owned boutiques and is sold in luxury department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom.

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