Marquee Brands Names CEO

Marquee Brands, a leading global brand owner, marketer and media company, announced the appointment of Neil Fiske as the first chief executive officer of Marquee Brands. Fiske has 20 years of brand-building experience across various consumer segments. Most recently, he was the chief executive officer of the GAP brand.  

“Neil brings world-class multi-brand operational experience to Marquee Brands and has a track record of successfully building and repositioning brands,” says Sam Porat, managing director, Neuberger Berman. “We are very excited to have him lead the team as the company’s first chief executive officer. Neil has the leadership track record and breadth of business experience we believe are critical to lead Marquee.”

Founded in 2014, Marquee Brands has become an industry leader in brand acquisitions and brand-building and today manages a portfolio with $3 billion of retail sales across 11 brands and four consumer segments. This includes the recent acquisition of the iconic brand Sur La Table, which further builds upon the home and culinary portfolio within Marquee Brands.

“As we continue to build and evolve the Marquee Brands business model, it was the right time for us to find a CEO with the experience and strategic foresight to take advantage of the unprecedented market opportunities ahead of us,” says Zachary Sigel, managing director, Neuberger Berman. “Neil shares our vision for Marquee and will position us well to fully capitalize on the current dislocation across the retail and consumer industry. We welcome him to the Marquee Brands team, and we are excited about the future.” 

Fiske’s career as a chief executive officer has focused on building brands, transforming businesses, and adapting to a seamlessly omni channel consumer environment.  Prior to Gap, Fiske served as chief executive officer at Billabong International, where he restored the flagship Billabong brand to a position of market leadership and multi-year share growth. He also spent five years as president and chief executive officer at Eddie Bauer, repositioning the company to focus on its heritage as America’s original outdoor outfitter. Fiske was also chief executive officer at Bath and Body Works, where he led a complete brand transformation, reversing a multi-year trend of negative comp store sales. Fiske began his career at Boston Consulting Group, focused on consumer goods and retail. He graduated from Harvard Business School with a masters of business administration and received a B.A. in political economy from Williams College. He also has private equity experience as a retail industry partner for Onex. He has been named WWD’s “Marketer of the Year” and “Retailer of the Year”, as well as co-authoring the award-winning brand building book “Trading Up:  The New American Luxury.”

“Marquee Brands has one of the best portfolios in the industry with premium brands that are truly meaningful to the consumer, have clear identities and competitive positionings, and a runway of growth ahead of them,” says Fiske. “I am fortunate to join a company that has a proven formula for success, a strong team adapting quickly to this ever-changing environment, and investing at a time when many are in retreat.  With the full backing of Neuberger Berman, I look forward to working closely with Michael DeVirgilio, Cory Baker and the executive team to grow this business and capitalize on the rich set of opportunities so clearly in front of us.”