VF Corp has chosen Bracken Darrell as its new CEO

Since the departure of emblematic CEO Steve Rendle at the end of 2022, after several difficult months, the American giant VF Corp, owner of The North Face, Vans, Timberland, Dickies and Supreme, has been looking for a new boss. Until now Benno Dorer, a member of the group’s board of directors, assumed this role on an interim basis. However, everyone has been wondering who will take on the role as future leader of the group that has a dozen brands in its portfolio, employs more than 35,000 people directly and that last May, announced annual sales of 11.6 billion dollars (10.7 billion euros).

The management of VF Corp has announced an unexpected choice with the appointment of Bracken Darrell, who has been CEO of electronics specialist Logitech since 2012, with offices in California and Switzerland.

Location wise the manager will not be out of place, as VF has its headquarters in Denver, Colorado, for the Americas, and in Stabio, Switzerland, for Europe. On the product side, however, he will not be operating in quite the same way.

“We conducted an in-depth search and determined that Mr Bracken had all the attributes needed to excel in this role. He is a transformative and visionary business leader with a proven track record in a wide range of industries,” says Richard Carrucci, chairman of the board, who has also been confirmed in his role. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated an exceptional ability to improve design capabilities, win over consumers and accelerate sales growth and margin expansion.”

Clearly, the board of directors of the American group was looking for a profile capable of reorganising the group, whose margins have been eroded in recent years, before moving forward again. On paper, the future boss, who is due to take up his post on July 17, has the qualities to do just that. A former executive at Procter & Gamble, he successfully oversaw the major reorganisation of Logitech in the first few months after his arrival as CEO in 2012. His first priority was to streamline the company, shedding 450 staff, or 13% of the payroll. He then focused on innovation to develop new product offerings.

“He succeeded in turning the company around by opening it up to new categories and improving its market share by introducing new and innovative products and by elevating design to be a pillar of the company’s strategy. Under Darrell’s leadership, Logitech has expanded into more than 20 new product categories, more than doubled its turnover and increased its market capitalisation tenfold,” says the VF Board, clearly eager to see the leader apply his expertise.