Burnes taps Gougelet to lead rebuilding

Jean-René Gougelet has been named president of Burnes Home Accents, a position that had remained vacant since C.R. Gibson's acquisition a year ago.

Gougelet will oversee sales, marketing and operations for both the Burnes and Connoisseur brands, which serve the department/specialty store and mass-market channels of trade, respectively, and will have full responsibility for profit building and return on assets.

"Jean-René Gougelet is an exceptionally talented senior manager with a track record for rebuilding national consumer brands," said Joseph Moore, president and vice chairman of C.R. Gibson. "His experience and leadership will play an integral role as we recapture market share in both the photo frame and home accessories categories."

Moore said that in the past year, C.R. Gibson and Burnes Home Accents have focused on consolidations between the two organizations, such as information technology, distribution, finance and back-office accounting functions.

Prior to joining Burnes Home Accents, Gougelet was a strategy consultant with Vido Enterprises.