HanesBrands starts search for a new CEO
HanesBrands is looking for a new leader.
The company said that Steve Bratspies will depart as CEO and board member at the end of 2025, or upon the appointment of his successor. Bratspies, who helmed the company during some major changes, will stay on in an advisory role once a new CEO is named to support a smooth transition.
Bratspies has served as CEO of HanesBrands since 2020. Prior to that, he spent 15 years at Walmart, including serving as chief merchandising officer from 2015 to 2020.
As part of the leadership succession planning process, the board has started a search to identify HanesBrand’s next CEO. It has retained executive search firm Spencer Stuart.
“Having reached a positive and important inflection point in executing our strategy and looking ahead to the next leg of the company’s journey, the board, in concurrence with Steve, has decided that now is the right time to initiate a search for our next CEO,” said Bill Simon, chairman. “We are actively searching for the next leader who will continue building on our momentum for the next chapter of the company’s growth.”
Simon noted that Bratspies led HanesBrands through a turbulent period in the industry, overhauling the company’s operating model, completing the sale of the Champion business and positioning HanesBrands as a “global powerhouse in basics and innerwear.”
“Under Steve’s leadership, the company has narrowed its focus and is now on track to deliver even stronger performance and increased shareholder returns in the coming years,” Simon said.
As part of the changes, HanesBrand has shrunk its brick-and-mortar portfolio. In July, Hilco Consumer-Retail acquired the operations for HanesBrands' Outlet and Maidenform stores.
The acquisition came roughly two months after HanesBrands entered into an agreement to sell the intellectual property and certain operating assets of its Champion business to Authentic Brands Group for a transaction value of $1.2 billion.
[READ MORE: HanesBrands in $1.2 billion deal to sell Champion]
HanesBrands announced Bratspies’ departure on the same day it reported fourth-quarter results. Net sales rose 4.5% to $888 million in the quarter.
