Google hires former Old Navy, Gap marketing VP as head of Glass

Google’s Glass division may be losing its lead engineer, but the company announced today that it had hired former Gap and Old Navy marketing chief Ivy Ross to head up the division. Ross will start her new position on May 19th.

Aside from Gap and Old Navy, Ross has also served as Chief Creative Officer for The Disney Store, headed up worldwide product design at Mattel, and, worked as Vice President of Design and Development for Outlook Eyewear at Bausch & Lomb. That last position is perhaps the most relevant to her selection as the new head of Glass.

Ross posted a brief note on the Glass Google+ page announcing that she should be leading the Glass team:

My name is Ivy Ross, and I’m excited to be joining Google on Monday, May 19 to lead our Glass efforts. With your help, I look forward to answering the seemingly simple, but truly audacious questions Glass poses: Can technology be something that frees us up and keeps us in the moment, rather than taking us out of it? Can it help us look up and out at the world around us, and the people who share it with us?

Ross goes on to provide some details on her background and express her excitement for the potential in a product like Glass:

Glass is especially cool, as no one has really tried to answer them with a product like this before. That’s our job, Explorers! I’m just getting started on Glass, but, because of all of you, and your thoughtful and smart feedback, I feel like I have an incredible head start. And I look forward to learning even more from you, and experiencing Glass together.

Ross’s background in marketing will also serve the Glass team well as the product moves away from its previous closed beta stage and becomes more widely available to the general public.