Photo: BFAnyc.com
Sophia Amoruso announced today that she’s stepping down from her role as CEO of her L.A.-based e-commerce site, Nasty Gal. The company’s president Sheree Waterson will replace Amoruso, effective immediately. This news comes after 10 percent of the staff was laid off over the summer and reports of slowed growth for the company.
“It’s become resolutely clear that I and Nasty Gal are ready for a move I’ve been thinking about for going on two years now,” Amoruso wrote in a post on her company’s blog, published today. “As you know, part of being a #GIRLBOSS (and just a decent human being) is about playing to your strengths. I’ve been wondering for a while now if the CEO role is one that I want—and the one that I’m best at.”
This announcement comes after the recent New York Times Style section story, which featured the 30-year-old Amoruso and author of #GirlBoss, alongside Diane von Furstenberg and Tim Gunn, as one of America’s next top mentors.
Amoruso, who founded Nasty Gal back in 2006, says she is ready to bring her company to the next level by stepping into more of a mentorship position (she’ll remain executive chairman and lead the creative and brand marketing), one she’s likened to Natalie Massenet of Net-a-Porter.
“I see this new partnership working very similarly to how my friend Natalie Massenet, the founder of Net-a-Porter, operates,” she says. “She has had a CEO for quite some time, while remaining the founder and executive chairman. Natalie bleeds Net-a-Porter as I bleed Nasty Gal. I, our customer, want you to know that I’m not going anywhere.”
—Kristin Tice Studeman, Style.com
