Gap Inc. CEO to step down, effective immediately

Gap Inc. President and CEO, Art Peck, will be stepping down from his role and vacate his seat on the Board of Drectors, the company announced on Thursday, November 7.

The decision will be effective immediately.

Peck's role will be transferred on to Robert J. Fisher, the company's current non-executive Chairman of the board.

Fisher will serve as President and CEO on an "interim basis," the company stated.

“On behalf of the entire Board, I want to thank Art for his many contributions to Gap Inc., spanning a nearly 15-year career with the company. Under Art’s tenure as CEO, we have made progress investing in capabilities that bode well for the future such as expanding the omni-channel customer experience and building our digital capabilities," said Fisher in a company release on Thursday.

Gap Inc. maintains that Fisher will step into the role with "strong leadership and invaluable perspective" gained during his impressive 35 years at the company and nearly 30 years on the Board of Directors.

Fisher continued:

“As the Board evaluates potential successors, our focus will be on strong leadership candidates with operational excellence to drive greater efficiency, speed and profitability. In the meantime, we will continue to focus on leveraging the power of our brands and the talented teams that lead them to improve execution and better position the portfolio for growth.”

Gap is currently down 4 percent across its entire brand portfolio in comparable sales for the third quarter of 2019.