Maya Dukes is returning to Macy’s on Monday, this time as senior vice president and executive creative director.

Dukes, who previously served as a senior graphic designer at Macy’s from 2001 to 2007, will oversee the department store’s creative strategy and brand expression across customer touchpoints, and report to Sharon Otterman, the chief marketing officer of Macy’s. Dukes will partner with marketing, merchandising and digital leaders “to bring the Macy’s brand to life across the full customer journey, focusing on strengthening and reimagining the Macy’s nameplate, under the company’s Bold New Chapter strategy,” the company stated Tuesday.

Priorities of Macy’s Bold New Chapter strategy have centered around closing 150 underperforming Macy’s stores, investing in remaining locations, accelerating growth in the luxury sector, modernizing operations and rolling out Bloomies stores, which are smaller, more specialized versions of the full-line Bloomingdale’s department stores; and more Bluemercury stores. The three-year strategy was introduced in February 2024.

In her first stint at Macy’s, Dukes built “a strong foundation in creative storytelling, catalog design and brand marketing that has shaped her career,” the retailer indicated Tuesday. She has more than two decades of experience leading creative organizations and designing customer experiences for some of the world’s most recognized companies, including Delta, Jack Henry & Associates, Comcast NBCUniversal, Tuesday Morning, and The Home Depot. 

“She brings the creative vision, customer-centric thinking and proven ability to build and lead high-performing creative organizations required to shape the next chapter of the Macy’s brand,” said Otterman in a statement. “Her experience translating brand strategy into compelling storytelling, elevating the customer experience and modernizing the creative process will be critical as we strengthen Macy’s for the future.”

Dukes succeeds Jason Holzman, who was senior vice president of creative and production and held the post for two years.

Most recently, Dukes served as managing director, global brand, creative and agency operations at Delta Air Lines, where she led enterprise-wide brand strategy, built the company’s award-winning in-house creative organization and oversaw major brand initiatives and partnerships with the Olympics, Team USA, the South by Southwest festival, and CES (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show).

Dukes represents Macy’s Inc.’s second major executive change this month, following the appointment of Alexandre Choueiri as chief executive officer of Bluemercury on Aug. 3.