John Haugh is set to become the new CEO of Iconix Brand Group, which owns Strawberry Shortcake and holds an interest in the Peanuts brand, on April 1. At the same time, interim CEO Peter Cuneo will transition to become executive chairman of the Iconix board.

Haugh, who has already been appointed company president and a member of the board of directors, will look to accelerate growth of Iconix’s portfolio of brands, which account for roughly US$13 billion in retail sales globally. He will also explore opportunities for new acquisitions.

Haugh’s retail experience stems from his time at Luxottica, where he led more than 14,000 Sunglass Hut associates and managed the Luxottica and Macy’s license operations business. Prior to joining Luxottica in 2011, he was president of Build-A-Bear Workshop.

Haugh is a member of the board of directors of Aeropostale and serves on the Board of Trustees for the International Council of Shopping Centers.

For its part, Iconix significantly boosted its presence in the kids and youth space with its acquisition of Strawberry Shortcake from American Greetings for US$105 million last February. The company had already established its presence in the children’s retail arena through its purchasing of the Peanuts rights in 2010 in partnership with the estate of Charles Schulz.