Gitanjali USA Exec McCullough Leaves Post

Gitanjali USA Chairman Randall N. McCullough has left the company, effective March 27, according to a media release issued on Monday.

Gitanjali USA, a division of Indian jewelry manufacturer and retailer Gitanjali Gems, operates, among others, the Samuels Jewelers and Rogers Jewelers chains, which it purchased in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

According to the release, McCullough joined Samuels as vice president of merchandising, chief operating officer in 1997, and became president and chief executive officer in 1998.

McCullough, along with former chairman David Barr and other senior management executives, worked to reposition the Samuels brand, reduce overhead and rationalize store locations prior to its acquisition by Gitanjali.

"The acquisitions were consistent with Gitanjali's objective to conform to a vertically integrated model, one that should benefit from all the efficiencies that are realized through control of the entire supply chain, inclusive of retail," McCullough said in the release. "My commitment was to see the company through the transition period. With that completed, it's time to move on to the next chapter of my career."

McCullough started his career in the jewelry industry in 1973 as a store manager, rising through the ranks to eventually become senior vice president of merchandise and marketing with the then 135-store, Augusta, Georgia-based chain A.A. Friedman Co.

In August 1991, he became president and CEO of Silverman's Factory Jewelers, according to the release. After a successful transition of that business, McCullough joined the former Barry's Jewelers in April 1997, which later became Samuels Jewelers.

He serves on the boards of the Diamond Council of America and Jewelers for Children, and is a member of the Jewelry Hall of Fame. He also received the American Jewish Committee's Human Relations Award for the jewelry division.

Gitanjali did not respond to immediate request for comment on McCullough's departure.