Louis Vuitton Americas CEO Lanessa Elrod to Lead Bergdorf Goodman

By Elena Vasquez

Lanessa Elrod, most recently CEO of Louis Vuitton Americas, will become president of Bergdorf Goodman effective Monday, parent company Exemplar Luxury Group announced Thursday. She replaces Tracy Margolies, who is stepping aside after two years in the role and will serve as executive adviser to Exemplar CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck.

The appointment lands during Bergdorf's 125th anniversary year. It also lands weeks after the retailer's parent, previously known as Saks Global, exited bankruptcy in June under its new name, having cut its debt by roughly 75% to under $1 billion.

Who is the new president?

Elrod brings a dual résumé: LVMH's flagship brand on one side, luxury department store buying on the other. Before leading Louis Vuitton Americas, she held roles at every one of Exemplar's three full-line banners — Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

That track record is the mechanism behind the hire. A merchant who already knows the company's vendors, assortments and culture can stabilize a store that spent the past year next to corporate turmoil.

Writing about her return on LinkedIn, Elrod called it "a deeply special full-circle moment."

Van Raemdonck framed the move in strategic terms. In a statement, he said her return "marks an important step in advancing our strategic priorities and further strengthening Bergdorf's position as the pinnacle of luxury."

What changed at the parent company?

Exemplar Luxury Group did not exist a year ago. Saks acquired Neiman Marcus for $2.7 billion, forming Saks Global, and then spent months fighting with vendors over unpaid invoices and unconventional payment terms.

The strain reached bankruptcy court in January. The company emerged in June as Exemplar Luxury Group with its debt load reduced by about 75%, to under $1 billion.

Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus absorbed most of that damage. Bergdorf, by contrast, held its position as a luxury stalwart on Manhattan's Upper East Side, largely staying above the fray, according to the company's account of the year.

Was Bergdorf ever for sale?

Analysts spent last year asking exactly that. Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Retail Equity Analyst Mary Ross Gilbert said in 2024 that she believed Saks Global was seeking a buyer for a 49% stake in Bergdorf Goodman.

The logic, as Gilbert explained at the time: holding a majority position would have allowed Saks to fully integrate Bergdorf's results into its balance sheet and strengthen its numbers.

No sale materialized. Retail consultant Michael Appel, president of Appel Associates, said by phone that the store remains a prized asset.

"Bergdorf's is just fine," Appel said. "If they ever have to sell an asset, they can sell Bergdorf's in a minute. If they're willing to sell the whole thing because I don't think anyone's going to buy a minority position in Bergdorf's."

What does the leadership change signal?

The retailer was not fully insulated from last year's upheaval. Chief merchant Yumi Shin left for Nordstrom this year after Saks Global dropped its attempt to prevent her departure.

Elrod's arrival addresses that gap directly. Her background as a longtime luxury department store buyer, combined with her time running Louis Vuitton's Americas business, gives Bergdorf both a merchant chief and a brand-side operator in one hire.

Margolies, for her part, does not leave the company. She logged decades of merchandising experience at Bergdorf and Saks Fifth Avenue before her two-year run as president, and she will now report to van Raemdonck as executive adviser at the group level.

The moves together signal what Exemplar values most at Bergdorf during its anniversary year: continuity and institutional memory.

With a veteran insider in the president's office and the balance sheet restructured, Bergdorf enters its 126th year as the asset its parent declined to sell — and the store Exemplar now wants running at full strength.