People

Staff -- JCK Online, 6/1/2000 2:00:00 AM

MINT DIRECTOR TO HEAD ZALE’S ONLINE BUSINESS

Zale Corp. has appointed Philip N. Diehl, former director of the U.S. Mint, as president of Zale.com and a senior vice president of Zale Corp. Diehl will lead the development of Zale’s

Web-based business, including site development and online sales, marketing, fulfillment, and customer relationship management for all company brands, including Zales Jewelers, Bailey Banks & Biddle Fine Jewelers, Gordon’s Jewelers, and Peoples Jewellers.

Diehl served six years as director of the U.S. Mint. Under his leadership, annual revenues at the 208-year-old agency of the U.S. Treasury Department quadrupled since 1997, and profits increased six-fold during the same period. Diehl helped create and implement USMint.gov, the mint’s online retail venture, which became one of the nation’s largest e-tailing Web sites.

APPOINTMENTS

Butterfields, the country’s third largest auctioneer, has made two appointments. Peter J. Shemonsky is director of the fine jewelry department. A 20-year jewelry industry veteran who has been involved in the auction arena for the past 10 years, he is the former director of the antique and estate jewelry and silver department of Grogan & Co., Boston, and the former assistant in charge of the jewelry department of Skinner Inc. in Boston. Ellie S. Thompson has been named jewelry specialist in the fine jewelry department of Butterfields’ Chicago gallery. She has 10 years’ experience as a gemologist as well as an appraiser and auction consultant. She was the jewelry specialist at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers and a consultant to Sotheby’s in Chicago. She is a featured expert on two HGTV series, “At the Auction with Leslie Hindman” and “The Appraisal Fair.” She is also an award-winning jewelry designer.

Jeffrey Cohen has been promoted from senior vice president of Movado sales to president of Movado North America, New York. The 39-year-old Cohen will be responsible for Movado sales in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. He joined Movado as a sales trainee in 1983. He was promoted to sales manager in 1984 and to vice president of sales for chain and department stores in 1986. In 1990, he was named vice president, national sales. He became senior vice president in 1994.

Rebecca Foerster has been named vice president of marketing at Frederick Goldman Inc., New York. For the past year, she has been an independent consultant to the company and was instrumental in the launch of the Keepsake brand to independent jewelers nationwide. She has also launched marketing efforts for Elizabeth Arden, Shisheido Cosmetics, America, and Champion Jogbra. Previously, she was vice president of international marketing at Lancaster Group Worldwide, where she led new project development initiatives for Monteil Paris, Lancaster, and Jil Sander.

Jack McDevitt is the new vice president of retail operations at Ross-Simons, Cranston, R.I. McDevitt has worked in the retail jewelry business for more than 30 years. Most recently, he was president of Schwarzschild Jewelers in Richmond, Va. Previously, he was Midwest regional manager of Bailey Banks & Biddle, a division of Zale Corp.