Gap goes in-house for new interim boss

Robert Fisher, the son of Gap Inc's founders, took over as interim chief executive officer of the apparel retailer on Thursday, tasked with putting the company on the path to a turnaround and negotiating the planned spin-off of Old Navy.

Fisher, who serves as the company's chairman, replaced 15-year Gap veteran Art Peck, under whom sales of the company's eponymous brand have tumbled due to out-of-fashion styles and competition from retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch and Europe's H&M.

Here are some quick facts about Fisher:

** This is not the first time Fisher has been interim Chief Executive Officer, having held the role for about half of 2007 following the departure of Paul Pressler.

** Joined Gap in 1980 as a store manager and has since held roles including chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Gap Inc, president of Banana Republic and President of the GAP brand.

** Fisher quit as president of the Gap stores division in 1999, stating he wanted to "go fishing". However, he remained a board member and became chairman in 2004 when his father stepped down.

** Fisher, a Stanford and Princeton alum, is Gap's largest shareholder with a 12.5% stake, according to Refinitiv data.

** A San Francisco native, Fisher also serves on California's Strategic Growth Council.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam and Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)