Di Humphries is the fresh face in charge of children's clothing retailer Pumpkin Patch.

She stepped up to chief executive role at the Auckland-based company in August after a stint as head of brand and merchandise.

Humphries, a former managing director of women's fashion chain Glassons, has been credited with making important changes at Pumpkin Patch while in her previous role.

"She's made a big impact on the quality and the design of the merchandise within Pumpkin Patch," said Paul Harrison, managing director of Salt Funds Management, earlier this year.

The retail firm has had a difficult few years since the onset of the global financial crisis, but its financial results have improved since the company exited its poorly performing retail operations in Britain and the United States. Pumpkin Patch reported a net profit of $5 million for the year to July 31 - a turnaround on the $27.5 million loss reported in the previous year.

Humphries told the Business Herald in September that Pumpkin Patch was focused on keeping up the regularity with which new ranges of clothing hit stores, and boosting the quality of products, in order to keep ahead of the competition.

"We've upped quality for all of our ranges," she said. "We really want to get that uniqueness back into the brand."