Victoria’s Secret Appoints Martha Pease as CMO to Clean Up Ed Razek’s Mess

In 2019, former Victoria’s Secret CMO Ed Razek—the male gaze behind the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show—exited the lingerie brand after 1) the dated event’s demise and 2) a series of disparaging public comments about transgender and plus sized models.

Now, over a year later, VS believes it's found the right person to lead a company-saving brand refresh—a woman.

• Last week, VS appointed Martha Pease as CMO. Pease previously held high-level marketing positions at Boston Consulting Group, Lifetime TV, and Neutrogena.

As one 2019 article put it, Victoria’s Secret’s (mostly male) execs last year laid out “a plan for a female-driven turnaround.” Pease’s hiring represents that plan in action.

• According to VS’s men, reconnecting with “customers who’ve increasingly turned to rivals that embrace female empowerment and diverse body types, like Aerie and ThirdLove,” requires a brand “led by her, for her,” per Ad Age.

My takeaway: The same male gaze that built VS ultimately destroyed it, which isn’t surprising post #metoo movement. But it’s somehow less surprising that when top male execs failed the brand, they tasked women like Pease with saving it.