Appointments: Tiffany’s CFO steps down

New York--Patrick F. McGuiness has resigned as chief financial officer of Tiffany & Co., effective Nov. 27.

According to a recent 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tiffany will pay McGuiness a severance of $899,000, as well as a pro-rated portion of the bonus he would have received for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2014 and certain benefits.

McGuiness, in turn, has agreed to release certain claims he might have against Tiffany and others, according to the filing.

James Fernandez, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Tiffany, has assumed the position of CFO on an interim basis while Tiffany’s board of directors searches for candidates to fill the CFO position.

Sterling Jewelers Inc. has announced two organizational changes at the company: the promotion of Bill Mooney to divisional vice president of operations, mall division, and the promotion of Michael Lynch to the newly created position of vice president of talent acquisition and human resources program integration.

In his new role, Mooney will share the responsibility of overseeing operations for Sterling’s mall division. He has been with the company for 32 years, beginning as a store manager. He most recently served as vice president of regional operations. 

Lynch will develop and execute strategic talent acquisition strategies in support of Sterling’s business growth and the increasing demands of the company. He also will direct human resources program integration efforts for new initiatives, organizational conversions and new concepts.

Scott Howe has been appointed to Blue Nile’s board of directors, effective Jan. 1.

Howe is the president and CEO of Acxiom Corp., an enterprise data, analytics and software-as-a-service company, where he drives a results-oriented culture for the company as it deepens and expands its offerings.

He formerly served as the corporate vice president of Microsoft Advertising Business Groups, where he managed a multibillion-dollar business encompassing all emerging businesses related to online advertising, including search, display, in-game, mobile, digital cable and a variety of enterprise software applications.

Howe also serves on the board of directors for the Center for Medical Weight Loss and is a former director of the Internet Advertising Bureau and Turn Inc., a digital advertising company.

Kassoy has added Santiago “Sandy” Mesonero to its sales team.

Mesonero has more than 20 years of experience in sales roles, his expertise including client relations, sales leadership and new business development. He also is an award-winning