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CEO of Sterling Jewelers' parent company to resign; longtime executive Mark Light to move up [The Akron Beacon Journal]
[October 14, 2014]

CEO of Sterling Jewelers' parent company to resign; longtime executive Mark Light to move up [The Akron Beacon Journal]


(Akron Beacon Journal (OH) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 14--Signet Jewelers Ltd., parent of Sterling Jewelers of Akron, revealed Tuesday morning that Michael Barnes will resign as chief executive officer, effective Oct. 31.

Mark Light, Signet's president and chief operating officer, will succeed Barnes as CEO and become a Signet board member. Barnes also is leaving the board.

Light has been with Sterling, and later Signet, for more than 30 years.

Signet, then known as Ratners Group Plc., purchased Sterling in 1987, making Sterling in Akron its U.S. subsidiary. At the time, Sterling had 117 stores. Today, Sterling operates more than 1,400 stores in the United States, including Kay and Jared stores.



Sterling accounted for the vast majority of Signet's sales until Signet's acquisition of rival Zale Corp. earlier this year.

Barnes oversaw the $1.46 billion purchase of Zale in May. With the acquisition, Signet became the largest operator of jewelry stores in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada with about 3,500 stores.


Also Tuesday, Signet said it is reaffirming its financial guidance stated in its second-quarter earnings release of Aug. 28.

Signet said Tuesday that Barnes was leaving Signet to work nearer his family in Dallas. Barnes is based at the headquarters of Sterling Jewelers, on Ghent Road in Akron. Sterling employs roughly 2,500 in the Akron area.

Barnes was president and chief operating officer of watch and handbag maker Fossil Inc., headquartered outside Dallas, before coming to Sterling in late 2010.

He joined Signet in December 2010 and became the company's chief executive in January 2011.

Barnes replaced Terry Burman, who arrived at Sterling in 1995 as chief of U.S. operations after turning around a California-based jewelry chain. At Signet, Burman replaced Nathan Light, who is Mark Light's father.

Nathan Light, who helped to nurture the small Sterling on Frederick Boulevard in Akron into a much larger nationwide enterprise, resigned abruptly as Sterling chief executive in 1995.

Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or [email protected].

___ (c)2014 the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) Visit the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) at www.ohio.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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