With an 11-year career at Net-a-Porter under his belt, CEO Mark Sebba has revealed plans to retire from the company as of Thursday, July 31st. Sebba will stay involved with the company as a non-executive director; he will also provide counseling to the company until his successor has been selected. While the quest for a new CEO is underway, no potential candidates have been disclosed just yet. Before his stint in high fashion, Sebba’s former gigs include finance director at Golden Rose Communications, operator at Jazz FM, and finance director at Video Networks Limited.
Sebba joined Net-a-Porter just three years after it was founded by Natalie Massenet in 2000, and since then he watched it grow from a singular e-tail shop to an online destination. In 2009, the company introduced The Outnet, followed by the site’s in-house label Iris & Ink in 2012, while Mr. Porter was introduced in 2011. Last year, the site rolled out a beauty category. And 2014 has seen the introduction of a print glossy entitled Porter and an athletic offshoot, Net-A-Sporter, to further increase clout of the already-lauded site. In addition to expanding Net-A-Porter, which now employs 2,500 individuals, Sebba has increased the site’s value, by carefully approaching international expansion while keeping the brand’s DNA intact. When Massenet was selected as a TIME 100 honoree, she called Sebba her “partner-in-crime,” pointing out that his leadership skills and approach to business were influential in her own career. “The last 11 years have been an extraordinary journey for The Net-A-Porter Group and for me personally. I am stepping down at a time when the company is stronger than ever. I count myself extraordinarily lucky to have worked for over a decade with Natalie Massenet,” Sebba said in a statement. “This business’ strength lies in her, our incredible team and our millions of supporters and customers around the world.”
