Diane Neal leaves board of Abercrombie and Fitch

Diane Neal, the not so recently appointed CEO of kitchenware company Sur la Table, will be leaving her position as a member of Abercrombie and Fitch's board of directors. With Sur la Table expected to consume a great deal of her time, Neal is not going to run for reelection. Neal will fulfill the remainder of her term, which will end prior to June before the annual board of directors meeting.

The board is expected to reduce the size of their membership from ten to eleven, so, Neal's departure should actually help simplify that process. Her departure was disclosed in a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Neal is known for being the former president of L. Brands Inc.'s Bath and Body Works Unit.

She was one of four directors added last year after an agreement was made with investor Engaged Capital who wanted to see Abercrombie and Fitch really take efforts to turn their struggling brand around. The other four directors added were Bonnie Brooks, Sarah Gallagher, and Stephanie Shern. The company's controversial CEO Mike Jeffries was removed from his position in December.

In addition to working at Bath and Body Works, Neal has also worked for Gap Inc., Target Corporation, Dayton's Department Stores (now part of Macy's Inc.), and the now defunct Mervyn's. She has also served as director of Fossil Group Inc., the baby retailer Giggle, and women's apparel retailer Soft Surroundings. Her depth of experience will be missed at Abercrombie and Fitch, but, hopefully the teen retail chain can still manage to turn itself around.