Following merger announcement, Saks COO steps down for helm position at Voomi

Days after the announcement plans to merge the Neiman Marcus and Saks businesses, the latter has already waved goodbye to one of its top executives. RJ Cilley, the former chief operating officer of Saks Fifth Avenue, has stepped down from the luxury retailer to become chief executive officer for HVAC supplier Voomi Supply.

His departure comes after serving for 12 years at Saks’ parent group Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), which he first joined as a senior analyst.

In 2018, Cilley became chief digital officer for HBC, overseeing the company’s retail portfolio that further includes Saks Off Fifth and Hudson’s Bay, before taking on the role of COO for Saks Fifth Avenue in 2021.

Cilley announced his departure in a LinkedIn post, where he thanked many of the individuals he had worked alongside before stating: “A new chapter has begun that I am very excited about. I am doing something very different but also something similar. I look forward to sharing the news and also plugging new roles that I am recruiting for.”

Cilley added that he was looking forward to “rooting from the sidelines for Saks Global”, a division that would be created as part of HBC’s impending takeover of the Neiman Marcus Group (NMG) – the process of which is still subject to regulatory approval – that would see the groups’ portfolio of luxury retail and real estate merged under one umbrella.

The announcement of HBC’s acquisition of NMG came after a lengthy negotiation period, following which the duo finally settled on a transaction valued at 2.65 billion dollars.