Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) today announced that Frederic Cumenal has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) today announced that Frederic Cumenal has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. The Board of Directors has commenced a search to recruit a successor in which it will be assisted by a leading executive search firm. During this process, Michael J. Kowalski, Chairman of the Board of Directors and previous CEO of Tiffany, will serve as Interim CEO while continuing as Chairman.

"On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I would like to thank Frederic Cumenal for his contributions to Tiffany," said Mr. Kowalski. "At a time of continuing challenges in the global luxury market, Frederic has enhanced the management team and taken important steps to position Tiffany for success in the long term. We wish him the best in his future endeavors."

Mr. Kowalski continued, "The Board is committed to our current core business strategies, but has been disappointed by recent financial results. The Board believes that accelerating execution of those strategies is necessary to compete more effectively in today's global luxury market and improve performance. As such, we remain focused on enhancing the customer experience, increasing the rate of new product introductions and innovation, maximizing marketing effectiveness, optimizing the store network, and improving our business operations and processes, all while efficiently managing our capital and costs. We believe these initiatives and the pace of their execution are key to driving shareholder value. Tiffany is an iconic brand with a family of talented and committed employees to match, and I look forward to supporting both during the transition."

Mr. Cumenal said, "I am proud of what we have accomplished at Tiffany and would like to thank the management team and our many talented employees around the world with whom I have had the pleasure to work. I have great confidence in Tiffany's brand, strategic direction and people, and I believe the Company will have many exciting opportunities in the future."

--Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF)