Hudson, Ohio — JOANN, the nation’s category leader in fabrics and sewing and one of the fastest-growing players in the craft space, has added two industry leaders to its executive team: Joe Thibault (senior vice president, store operations) and Lisa Wittman-Smith, senior vice president, inventory management & business insights.
An experienced retail leader, Thibault was promoted to senior vice president, store operations in November 2021 after more than 19 years with the company. In his current role, Thibault oversees all field operations, including more than 850 stores. This includes responsibility for JOANN’s omnichannel fulfillment options including Buy Online Pickup In Store, Ship from Store and Curbside Pickup. He also leads a corporate team that is focused on store support, including field communications, customer feedback and space planning.
Wittman-Smith joined JOANN in November 2021 as senior vice president, inventory management and business insights. A proven leader with a diverse retail background, she held roles in merchandising, planning, marketing and business insights. Prior to joining JOANN, Wittman-Smith was vice president, business insights at Visionworks of America, an optical retailer with more than 700 U.S. stores. Previously, she spent more than 20 years at Luxottica.
“We are very excited to announce the promotion of Joe, and to welcome Lisa to our executive leadership team,” says Wade Miquelon, president and CEO of JOANN. “Both bring incredible experience and innovative thought to JOANN and they will help us continue to optimize the way we operate while finding new ways to create terrific customer experiences, wherever and however consumers shop with us. I look forward to working closely with both of these proven leaders and am confident as ever in the strength of our executive team.”
Both will report to Chris DiTullio, chief customer officer, and will be based at JOANN’s Hudson, Ohio, headquarters.
From a single storefront in Cleveland, Ohio, that opened more than 75 years ago, JOANN has grown to include 852 stores across 49 states.
SOURCE: JOANN