The British may be invading the American media – from Anna Wintour to Piers Morgan – but there’s a reverse invasion happening too. In recent years, American brand and retail executives have become hot properties for British luxury brands with an eye on global expansion.

A quick survey of new appointments at British retailers and brands reveals a growing group of US transplants. Smythson, known for its by-royal-appointment luxury stationery and elegant accessories, hired Anna-Lisa Froman, a former Gap and Banana Republic veteran, as senior vice-president last October. Last month, the London boutique Browns announced that US native Ruth Runberg, formerly of Barneys New York and Saks Fifth Avenue, was going to replace Erin Mullaney, another American, as buying director. At Kurt Geiger, Scott Tepper, formerly a buyer at Bergdorf Goodman, was hired last summer to be the footwear group’s head of luxury.

These are just the latest in a line of US expats including Ed Burstell, who moved to London to be managing director of Liberty in 2008; New Yorker Joyce Avalon, formerly of Barneys, who joined the upmarket beauty boutique Space NK as chief merchant (in charge of buying and selling) the same year; Josh Shulman, who joined Jimmy Choo as chief executive in 2007; and US-born Mary-Adair Macaire, formerly of Chanel, who was chief executive at knitwear label Pringle until recently.