True Religion Appoints the Board Member Chelsea A. Grayson as its Interim CEO

True Religion, an iconic Denim brand based out of Los Angeles, announces the appointment of the board member Chelsea A. Grayson as its interim CEO, following John Ermatinger's decision to retire as chief executive officer of the company. Chelsea will step down as chair of the Audit Committee and will continue to serve on True Religion’s board of directors. In the meantime, the True Religion Board intends to conduct a process to identify a permanent CEO.

Gene Davis, Chair of the True Religion Board, comments, “As a board member for the past year, Chelsea has been instrumental in helping True Religion evolve the bran. We are fortunate to have someone of Chelsea's caliber and experience step up to lead the company as we continue to innovate our products and customer experience. In addition, we would also like to recognize and thank John for his incredible leadership and dedication to the brand”.

Prior to True Religion, Chelsea was the CEO and board member of American Apparel. Also, she sits on the board of directors of Delta Dental of California (where she is a member of the Nomination & Corporate Governance Committee), and the advisory board of Marca Global.

Commenting on her new role, Grayson says, “As a Los Angeles native, I am honored to have been chosen to lead an iconic brand like Los Angeles-based True Religion. I look forward to continuing the momentum started with recent initiatives like adding Bella Hadid as a millennial face of the brand and our partnership with global sports juggernaut, Manchester United."

It was in 2002, when True Religion emerged onto the Los Angeles denim scene by blowing up the construction of the classic five-pocket jean. With its five-needle thread at two-stitch-per-inch process, the True Religion Super T stitch was instantly recognized for style that was unlike any other denim brand in the world.