Hartmarx CEO Homi Patel, who has worked at the company for 30 years, is retiring at the age of 60.
"I have been extremely privileged to be the head of this wonderful company and its extremely talented and dedicated people," Patel said of his tenure. "I am particularly proud that even in the most adverse of circumstances, our board and our employees conducted themselves with class and dignity, accomplishing our most important goals of maximizing the sale price while saving our brands and thousands of jobs."
Patel's replacement was not immediately revealed, but it is widely expected to be Ajay Khaitan, the principal of Emerisque and a former ceo of denim brand Lee Cooper.
Patel will continue as a director of Hartmarx and is in discussions with Emerisque regarding possible nonexecutive advisory positions.
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But Patel will leave the company before the sale is final. Originally slated to close on July 7, the deal's completion has been reportedly postponed due to infighting about closing costs.
"The board has known about my departure for six months, but the sale has gone on longer than expected," he said. "I completed 30 years in April. That was a milestone. It's time [for the company] to freshen everything up."
He added he expects the sale to be completed within the next week.
Patel's last act at Hartmarx may have been challenging, but he oversaw many strategic shifts at the company. Long known as a tailored clothing expert, Hartmarx became a more rounded concern during his tenure. He joined the company in 1979 as the vice president of the company's now-defunct uniform division and held various marketing and divisional positions before being named president in 1992. He was named chief operating officer in 1993 and ceo in 2002. In that role, Patel led the charge to diversify, acquiring Misook, Christopher Blue and Monarchy, and expanding product offerings within heritage businesses like Hickey Freeman and Hart Schaffner Marx.
Emerisque clearly wants to take the company in a new direction wants to put its own stamp on things. So Patel is out. Patel is an advisor to private equity firm Z Capital and said he plans to spend more time in that position.
