Anisa Kamadoli Costa (pictured), Tiffany & Co.’s chief sustainability officer and chair and president of its charitable arm, the Tiffany Foundation, is leaving the company after 19 years.
Effective April 18, Costa will become chief sustainability officer for Rivian Automotive, the electric car company that went public in November, Rivian announced.
Costa joined Tiffany in 2003 as program officer for the Tiffany Foundation and manager of community affairs. In 2009, she became president of the Tiffany Foundation and vice president of corporate social responsibility.
In 2013, she was named chair of the foundation, and in 2015, she was also named Tiffany’s chief sustainability officer. She later received the Initiatives in Art and Culture’s (IAC) 2020 award for Ethical Leadership in Responsible Practice in Jewelry.
LVMH had hailed Tiffany’s sourcing and commitment to sustainability prior to buying the retailer.
“Sourcing and sustainability are quite important, and that is something we could learn from them,” said LVMH chief financial officer Jean-Jacques Guiony. “They are leaders in that important area.”
It was unclear if Tiffany would replace Costa. The company had not responded to a request for comment by the time of publication.
The news comes as LVMH, which has owned the retailer for 16 months, announced that “Tiffany & Co. had an excellent start to the year, still driven by strong growth in the United States. The new Knot collection was particularly successful.”
On a webinar that followed the release of the company’s financial results, Guiony said that LVMH was working on “elevating” the Tiffany brand.
“Elevating the brand means lots of things, including branding, including increasing product range,” he said. “It doesn’t mean selling more expensive stuff. It means the image conveyed by all the products should be improved. It’s a long-term effort.… It will take time to implement. It’s a never-ending process.”
LVMH’s overall watches and jewelry division revenue rose 24% over the prior year in the first quarter of 2022 (ended March 31).
(Photo courtesy of Rivian Automotive)
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