By Rachel K.
<a href="http://cbxblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/alg_portman_galliano.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-2568" title="alg_portman_galliano" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/alg_portman_galliano.jpg" alt="" width="485" height="327" /></a>

Last week, John Galliano was swiftly removed as the head of Christian Dior after a video surfaced of his anti-Semitic rants in a Paris restaurant. Now, as one who is Jewish (and just as a human being), I was outraged by his behavior on a few different levels. But as a brand person, I also thought: No John Galliano at Dior? <a href="http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/03/02/Damage-Control-Diors-Galliano-Response.aspx" target="_blank">He IS Dior</a>!

The recent trend of Chief Creative Officer or CEO as brand ambassador has been going on for a while now. In fact, several of these individuals have such a hand in the shaping of the brand that their names are virtually synonymous with the brand. Whereas the head of a company used to remain somewhat anonymous (e.g. <a href="http://blogs.forbes.com/augustturak/2011/03/07/the-missing-elephant-in-the-bedroom/" target="_blank">Jack Welch</a>), today’s brand gatekeepers are front-and-center. They even go so far as reaching out directly to customers – through corporate communications, blogs and tweets – to forge relationships.

Take Millard “Mickey” <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millard_Drexler" target="_blank">Drexler</a>, for example. As the head of J. Crew, he and his Executive Creative Director, <a href="http://fashionista.com/2010/07/five-keys-to-jenna-lyons-success/" target="_blank">Jenna Lyons</a> have turned the company around, making it a brand worthy of a $3 billion buyout. Every time I buy something from J.Crew.com (too often to admit), I get a beautifully printed note from Mickey, printed on thick, cream-colored cardstock, thanking me for my purchase and assuring me of J. Crew’s high standards of quality. (Tell that to my last cardigan, the buttons of which popped off after a few cleanings.) The first time I received such a note, I read it very carefully, anxiously awaiting a line informing me of some 25% off discount. But no…it’s just a personal note from Mickey, thanking me for my patronage. I also recently received such a note from Russ Gaitskill, the CEO of Garnet Hill, the online and catalog company that sells beautiful bedding and housewares. Now, whereas I know who Mickey Drexler is (namely due to a huge <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/09/20/100920fa_fact_paumgarten" target="_blank">New Yorker profile</a> I read a few months ago), I had ZERO knowledge of Russ, so getting a note from him with my order (okay, okay, I’m a huge online shopper) held little weight. But still…it was a nice, personal touch, and obviously an effort by this company to woo me back for more purchases.

Other highly recognizable brand ambassadors include <a href="http://people.forbes.com/profile/reed-krakoff/20645" target="_blank">Reed Krakoff</a>, who has turned around Coach in the past decade and who is so popular that he recently launched his own, eponymous, non-Coach brand, and <a href="http://racked.com/archives/2011/01/10/simon-doonan-ousted-from-creative-director-position-and-promoted-to-creative-ambassadoratlarge.php" target="_blank">Simon Doonan</a>, who is now Creative Ambassador-at-Large of Barneys (and was for years a virtual face of the brand). And these days, more people think of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Lagerfeld" target="_blank">Karl Lagerfeld</a> when they hear the name Chanel than they do of Coco herself.

Of course, as Galliano – Lagerfeld’s arch-rival – has proven, this complicated CCO/CEO relationship can backfire in a big way. Dior, the jewel in the crown of the LVMH fashion empire, now finds itself without its star designer, who has been with the house since 1996 and has, in the past 15 years, further elevated the reputation of the brand. Fashion world forecasters are saying that the house will do just fine, and that the runway piece of the business is just a small percentage of the overall sales. But one can’t help but wonder what Dior will look like in the next CCO’s hands.

And back in the <a href="http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/02/charlie-sheen-dior-and-galliano-when-your-brand-rests-on-one-man/" target="_blank">pre-Sheen</a>, pre-Galliano weeks of early February, another super-strong personality, Peter Arnell, got fired from the agency that bears his name by holding company Omnicom. Not only that…but his <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1356595/Peter-Arnell-New-Yorks-worst-boss-loses-job-replaced-WIFE.html?ito=feeds-newsxml" target="_blank">WIFE was appointed as the new chief executive</a>! So technically, Arnell can remain Arnell…but there’s no question that the company has been tarnished by Peter’s shenanigans (and awful business decisions) in recent years (the horrendous <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ4yF4F74vc" target="_blank">Tropicana rebranding</a> comes to mind).

But it’s also been proven that hearty, well-established brands CAN bounce back from such scandals. Why, just take a look at the company of Mr. Arnell’s close friend, Martha Stewart. In 2005, after spending five months in prison, and despite predictions that the situation would end her media empire, Martha launched a <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_45/b4008076.htm" target="_blank">comeback campaign</a>, and her company is now stronger than ever. She took lemons and turned them into lemonade in her trademark style, and continues to be a decisive and inspiring leader. I doubt the same will happen for Nazi-sympathizer Galliano, but his scandal – and Martha’s turnaround – are lessons to be heeded by the J. Crews and Garnet Hills of the world.