Gwyn for the win! Gwyneth Paltrow‘s lifestyle brand Goop has hired a new CEO, Lisa Gersh, who interestingly enough was formerly president and CEO at Martha Stewart Living.
Goop’s rep confirmed to Us Weekly on Monday, Oct. 6, that the Oscar winner enlisted Gersh to fill the spot of predecessor Seb Bishop, who suddenly quit this past April after Paltrow’s “conscious uncoupling” announcement from husband Chris Martin via Goop newsletter.
Paltrow, 42, lauded Gersh as a “visionary leader” with the necessary business acumen for Goop’s platform. “She’s the perfect person to build on the momentum we have already created at Goop, and to diversify our opportunities to bring Goop’s positive energy directly to consumers in what they read, what they try, what they buy and how they live.”
Gersh was previously the CEO and president of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, but stepped down from her role in February 2013, after less than a year with the company.
Shifting gears to Goop, the seasoned exec sang Paltrow’s praises in the release. “As a fan since its launch, I’ve admired the inimitable voice and style Gwyneth has infused into Goop, and the business she’s built,” Gersh said. “It’s rare to work with such an inspired founder and a digitally native company, a brand that thinks digitally from an organic point-of-view and successfully fuses content and revenue-generating retail.”
Paltrow’s bold move appointing Gersh is especially interesting after lifestyle scion Martha Stewart made scathing recent remarks about the A-list actress. “She just needs to be quiet. She’s a movie star,” Stewart said last month in an interview with Net-a-Porter’s The Edit. “If she were confident in her acting, she wouldn’t be trying to be Martha Stewart.”
Stewart, 73, previously threw shade at Paltrow and her Goop site in October 2013. “I haven’t eaten at Gwyneth’s house and I don’t know how she lives, but if she’s authentic, all the better. I certainly hope she is,” Stewart said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “She really wants to be part of the lifestyle business. She’s a charming, pretty person who has a feeling for lifestyle. Fine, good.” She added: “I think I started this whole category of lifestyle.”
