US soft toy-maker Build-A-Bear Workshop has named Yevgeny Fundler as its chief legal officer, replacing general counsel Eric Fencl who is retiring.
Fundler was most recently CLO at agriculture tech business Benson Hill, which he left last year. At Build-A-Bear he will oversee the company’s legal, corporate governance and disclosure matters and act as a liaison between the board, management and shareholders. He will join the company’s executive team and report directly to CEO and president Sharon Price John.
St. Louis-based Build-A-Bear enables customers to create and customise their own stuffed toy animals, generating almost $500m in revenue last year.
John said: “Yevgeny’s broad experience with legal, business, corporate governance and finance matters makes him ideal for this position. We are fortunate to have him join Build-A-Bear Workshop as Eric steps away.”
Fundler worked at Benson Hill for three years, having previously been GC at railcar leasing and repair business American Railcar Industries (now known as American Industrial Transport) for seven years. He also had spells at home fashion retailer WestPoint Home as GC and at hedge fund billionaire Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises as assistant GC and counsel.
Fencl, meanwhile, exits after 17 years with the teddy bear-maker. He previously spent more than a decade as GC at Outsourcing Solutions, and also had in-house stints at Monsanto (as corporate counsel) and at McDonnell Douglas (as counsel). He started his legal career in private practice at legacy firm Bryan Cave.
John added: “We would like to sincerely thank Eric for his outstanding contributions to Build-A-Bear over the past 17 years. He has been an invaluable member of our leadership team during a critical time of transition and evolution for the organisation. I truly appreciate his expertise coupled with his balanced approach in providing advice and guidance spanning the entirety of my tenure at the company.”
In other recent US retail-related moves, last month supermarket giant Kroger hired former Dinsmore managing partner George Vincent as GC, replacing Christine Wheatley who is retiring next month. Also in July, America’s largest online Asian supermarket Weee! hired Devang Shah from Pivot Bio as GC – the company’s first legal chief since previous GC Thomas Jeon left in 2022.
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