Foothill Ranch-Based Wet Seal Hires New President and COO

Foothill Ranch-based women's clothing retailer the Wet Seal will have a new president come March 28, the company announced Monday.

Ken Seipel will take the position of president and chief operating officer, serving under recently hired CEO Susan McGalla.

Most recently, Seipel was the president of Pamida Discount Stores LLC, which has locations mainly in the Midwest. Before that, he was an executive vice president at Gap Inc.'s Old Navy division and had held positions at Target Corp., Shopko Stores Inc. and J.C. Penney Co.

"Ken's industry expertise and credentials, combined with his operational excellence, are an ideal fit for Wet Seal's next phase of growth in the teen and young contemporary market," McGalla said in a statement.

Wet Seal, headquartered just off Portola Parkway at 26972 Burbank, operates more than 533 stores. In Febuary, it reported that sales were up 7 percent from a year before.