Jack Mathews and Lisa Valente have joined Kaltex America. Jack Mathews is senior vice president of denim. He will lead the company in strategic initiatives for the denim fabric division. He has spent more than 30 years in the denim industry and has held executive positions at Cone Mills, American Cotton Growers and most recently at Artistic Denim Mills. He has also held leadership positions in various industry associations, including the Cotton Board and American Apparel Producers Network, and served as a delegate on the National Cotton Council.

Lisa Valente has been brought on board as chief merchandising officer of apparel. She will lead Kaltex’s strategic apparel growth efforts in the US and Europe. She has held various retail leadership positions with Old Navy, Sears Holdings Corporation and Kohl’s department stores. She brings 25 years of denim manufacturing experience, including private-label brand development, global fabric research and wash development, cost engineering and merchandising.

Kaltex American is a division of Grupo Kaltex, a Mexican-owned, vertically integrated textile company that produces a range of fibers, yarns, fabrics, apparel and home textile products. Over the past year, the company has been strengthening its team in New York and in Mexico to successfully implement its strategy and take advantage of market opportunities.