Tiffany's Veteran COO & CFO Fernandez To Retire; Ralph Nicoletti Named CFO

(RTTNews) - Luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. (TIF) has named Ralph Nicoletti its next executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective April 2, 2014. Further, the company announced the retirement of its Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, James Fernandez, in July.

Nicoletti, who would be based in New York, is responsible for the firm's global financial functions and information technology, reporting to Chairman and Chief Executive, Michael Kowalski. He joins Tiffany from CIGNA, the global health services and insurance company, where he was executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Fernandez, a 30-year veteran of Tiffany, has been chief financial officer since the resignation of the prior chief financial officer last November and had also served as chief financial officer from 1989 to 2011.

Following his retirement, the chief operating officer title would be eliminated and, instead, Tiffany's senior vice president of global operations and customer service and the senior vice president of manufacturing, diamonds and gemstones would directly report to Kowalski.