Parent of North Face, Timberland names new CEO

The parent company of The North Face, Timberland and Vans has named Bracken Darrell as president and CEO, effective July 17.  

In connection with his appointment, Benno Dorer, who has been acting as VF’s interim president and chief executive following the abrupt departure of Steve Rendle in December, will remain a board member. Richard Carucci, who has been serving as interim chairman, will take the chair position on a permanent basis. 

“We conducted an extensive search and determined that Bracken has all the attributes to excel in this role,” said Carucci. “He is a transformational and visionary business leader with a strong track record of performance across multiple industries. Throughout his career he has demonstrated an outstanding ability to enhance design capabilities, delight consumers, and accelerate revenue growth and margin expansion.”

Darrell will join VF from Logitech International S.A., where he served as president and CEO since 2013. Under his leadership, Logitech expanded into more than 20 new product categories, more than doubled revenue, and achieved a tenfold increase in market capitalization, VF said in a release.

Prior to Logitech, Darrell held international leadership roles of increasing responsibility at Procter & Gamble where he was president of Braun globally, the Whirlpool Corporation where he was president of EMEA, and General Electric.

“Bracken is a purpose-driven leader who emphasizes the importance of social responsibility, including environmental sustainability,” VF said. “At Logitech, he wove social responsibility into the company’s mission and strategy and built its reputation as a sustainability leader within the tech industry.”

“It’s an honor and privilege to have the opportunity to serve as president and CEO of VF,” said Darrell. “Like millions of people around the world, I love VF’s iconic brands. I’m so impressed by this organization’s sustained ability to keep its portfolio of brands at the forefront of culture over time during its 124-year history. I look forward to working closely with the board, leadership team and the talented associates across VF to build on the initiatives underway to strengthen business performance and drive strong and sustainable growth and shareholder value creation.”