A.K.A. Brands adds to board with two appointments

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Jan 5, 2022

Next-generation brand accelerator A.K.A Brands announced on Tuesday it is expanding its board of directors, with the addition of Simon Beard and Ilene Eskenazi, effective December 31, 2021. 

San Francisco-based A.K.A. Brands, whose portfolio includes Princess Polly, Culture Kings, Mnml, Petal & Pup and Rebdolls, said it looks to leverage the duo's expertise as it looks to grow its current brand offering and seek out other brands to acquire.

“We are thrilled to have both Simon and Ilene join our board at such an exciting time in our business,” said Jill Ramsey, chief executive officer of A.K.A. Brands. “We look forward to leveraging their extensive expertise as we continue to scale and grow our brands and add even more great direct-to-consumer fashion brands to our portfolio. Their experience will be invaluable as we implement strategic growth initiatives to build upon our success as a next-generation retail platform.”

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Having co-founded Culture Kings in 2008, Beard is an accomplished entrepreneur who rapidly grew the Australian multi-brand retailer from a flea market stall to an e-commerce and brick & mortar enterprise that today combines fashion, music, culture and sport. Adopted by A.K.A Brands in 2018, Culture Kings remains known for its extensive, curated collection of leading global brands, as well as its offering of proprietary brands and exclusive styles.

“I am thrilled to be joining A.K.A. Brands’ board of directors and look forward to leveraging my experience to support the growth of the group of brands and execute on our strategic initiatives,” said Beard. “I am proud that Culture Kings is part of the  A.K.A. Brands portfolio, and I am excited to apply my entrepreneurial skillset to help the company on its mission to be the next generation of retail and increase value for shareholders.”

​Eskenazi brings over 20 years of leadership experience across consumer brands in the retail, sports, technology, and food and beverage industries, including a wealth of regulatory and corporate governance experience.

She currently serves as chief legal officer and corporate secretary for Petco Health and Wellness Company Inc., where she oversees all legal, corporate governance and regulatory affairs in support of the company’s strategic plans and growth objectives.

Prior to Petco, she was the global general counsel and chief human resources officer for Boardriders, Inc., where she was responsible for all legal and human resource initiatives, managing approximately 10,000 employees and distribution in over 100 countries. Previously, she served as Chief Legal Officer and SVP of Talent Operations and Performance at True Religion Apparel, Inc., and she began her career at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

“I am excited to become a board member of A.K.A. Brands, which has built a unique and differentiated brand accelerator platform,” said Eskenazi. “The company is a global leader in direct-to-consumer fashion, and I look forward to collaborating with my fellow Board members and using my knowledge and experience to help drive A.K.A. Brands’ next phase of growth as a publicly traded company.”

A.K.A. Brands made its stock exchange debut in September last year, opening below the initial public offering price. In its most recent trading update, the company said sales reached $161.8 million for the three months ending September 30, 2021, compared to $63.3 million in the third quarter of 2020.