SHINOLA NAMES SHANNON WASHBURN AS NEW PRESIDENT
Shinola Detroit LLC has announced that Shannon Washburn will succeed Jacques Panis as president of the company, who is departing his role on March 2. Washburn, who is Shinola’s current vice president of Watch Development, will lead Shinola’s brand and product development teams, as well as all of its marketing efforts. She will report to Shinola CEO Tom Lewand.
“Shannon is one of the most talented, intelligent and respected people at Shinola,” said Lewand. “It is a special opportunity to work with her in this leadership role, where she will be key to ensuring that our incredible team will continue taking our brand and our business on its amazing trajectory. While we will greatly miss Jacques’ unique talents and energy on a daily basis, and we are beyond grateful for his continued support and friendship.”
Added Panis, who has been with the company since its inception in 2011: “There comes a point in every career where it’s time to move on down the road, and that time has come for me. I will be taking some time to pause and reflect before defining what is “next” for me. Shinola has been a place of personal and professional growth for me and I am grateful for having had the opportunity to be a small part of this epic journey. Shinola has played a major role in my life for the past seven years and I plan to continue supporting the company anyway I possibly can in the future.”
Said Shinola founder Tom Kartsotis, “Jacques and I have worked together for over 10 years, the last seven in a central capacity of helping to create Shinola. As one could imagine, this has been a frenetic adventure filled with fun, hard work, incredible high points and our fair share of challenges. The brand has evolved to a point where the best parts of Jacques’ unique capabilities can be put to better use in a role that is more entrepreneurial than what his current role has become and this unique guy wants to explore how his unique gifts can be more rewarding both creatively and professionally. I consider the handful of people who joined me in Detroit a little over seven years ago as cofounders of Shinola, and Jacques will always be a part of the brand.”
