y excited to be given stewardship of such a famous, culturally important brand,” Willingham said. “I bought my first pair of Craftsman boots when I travelled through Sydney during the ’90s and fell in love with R.M.Williams there and then. “This is a unique, once-in-a-career opportunity and it’ll be an absolute privilege to work together with the R.M. Williams team to lead the brand through the next stage of its  evolution.” John Hartman, chief investment officer of Tattarang, which acquired 100 per cent of R.M. Williams last year, welcomed Willingham’s appointment, and said his role will be critical in accelerating the brand’s new growth strategies across digital and international markets. Before DDB, Willingham was the global director on the Nike brand at Wieden + Kennedy, overseeing campaigns for the 2016 Olympics and 2018 World Cup, among others. He also led BBDO’s Singaporean hub and spent nine years at Fallon in London. The Iconic hires former Nike exec for GM of sport role Lifestyle and fashion retailer The Iconic has hired former Nike executive Andrew Poole to fill its newly created role of general manager for Sport. Poole, who will commence with the role this month, will be responsible for the retailer’s sports category, leading a cross-functional and customer-focused team. According to The Iconic, the past 12 months marked a period of significant growth for the company’s sport section, with both an increase in assortment and amplified marketing investment in full funnel integrated campaigns. “We are thrilled to welcome Andrew to The Iconic team after an extensive global search to fill the newly created role of general manager, sport,” said Gayle Burchell, The Iconic’s chief category officer. “By being truly customer-centric and curating a world-class offering, our sports category is an integral part of our business,” Burchell said. “We can’t wait for Andrew to bring his wealth of expertise as we deliver further strength to this category.” Before joining The Iconic, Poole was senior sales director for Nike Sportswear for four years. In this role, Poole drove commercial functions and growth for the business through a customer-centric market strategy, recruiting and optimising high performance teams. Prior to this, Poole managed the full P&L for Nike Pacific across merchandise, tech, marketing, supply chain, finance sales and HR. Moncler announces first chief brand officer Luxury fashion and skiwear brand Moncler has welcomed on board Gino Fisanotti in the newly created position of chief brand officer. “In a continuously and rapidly changing business environment, it is increasingly critical to be able to maintain a relevant brand identity that resonates with the spirit of the times by building a community, creating experiences beyond products, and continuing to stand for a powerful and authentic purpose,” said Moncler in a statement. “The understanding of this within Moncler led to the creation of the new position of Chief Brand Officer which will address the brand architecture, strategy and storytelling across all touchpoints while supporting the company in embracing a new concept of luxury.” Prior to joining Moncler, Fisanotti worked at Nike for 23 years, where he worked in retail and marketing roles in South America and Europe and eventually became global VP of sportswear. He was most recently Nike’s first brand creative officer.