Pandora Americas hires new president

Pandora Americas, the Baltimore-based arm of the global charm and jewelry retailer, announced the appointment Monday of a former Target executive as its newpresident.

Sid Keswani, who has been CEO of Fiesta Mart, a Texas-based grocery store chain, takes over as Pandora Americas president on Aug. 13. Before Fiesta Mart, Keswani spent19 years at Target and also worked for Susser Holdings, a Texas-based convenience store chain.

Keswani succeeds Scott Burger, who stepped down in February after leading Pandora Americas for a decade and relocating the company to Baltimore from Columbia.

“I am very pleased to welcome Sid to Pandora. He is an accomplished retail executive who has worked extensively with creating unique shopping experiences for today’s consumers,” Pandora CEO Anders Colding Friis said in a statement. “Sid brings a strong track record and leadership capacity, and I am confident he will be successful in driving continued growth and profitability for Pandora.”

As president of the Americas for Pandora, Keswani oversees all its markets in North and South America and the Caribbean, including 650 stores, more than 200 of them owned by the company and the rest by franchisees.

“Pandora has built a leading global brand in a very short time span, and I amexcited by the opportunity to lead the continued journey in the Americas,” Keswani said in a statement.

Based in Denmark, Pandora was founded in 1982 and has annual sales of about $3.5 billion.