VF Corp names Bracken Darrell president and CEO

Fashion and lifestyle conglomerate VF Corporation has announced the appointment of Bracken Darrell as president and chief executive officer, effective July 17, 2023.

Darrell will succeed Benno Dorer who served in an interim capacity since December 2022 and has been on VF’s board since 2017.

While Dror will remain a board member, Richard Carucci, a board member since 2009 and became interim chair of the board during VF’s leadership transition period, has now been named chair of the board.

On Darrell’s appointment, Carucci said that an “extensive search” had taken place to make the final selection, with Darrell offering a strong track record of performance across multiple industries.

Carucci continued in a release: “Throughout his career, [Darrell] has demonstrated an outstanding ability to enhance design capabilities, delight consumers, and accelerate revenue growth and margin expansion.

“His broad executive management and deep international experience make him uniquely suited to partner with and guide VF’s executive team and 35,000 talented associates around the world to fuel an exciting new future for the company.

“We are highly confident that under Bracken’s leadership, VF will achieve new levels of success that will make its associates, investors, and stakeholders proud.”

VF continues on leadership transition period

Darrell joins the business from Logitech International, where he served as president and CEO for 10 years and was credited with the turnaround of the firm through the expansion into new categories and the improvement of market share. Under his leadership, Logitech more than doubled revenue, and additionally achieved “a tenfold increase in market capitalisation”.

Prior to Logitech, Darrell held a number of increasingly responsible international leadership and management positions at the likes of Procter & Gamble, Whirlpool Corporation and General Electric.

Speaking on his appointment, Darrell said: “It’s an honour and privilege to have the opportunity to serve as President and CEO of VF.

“Like millions of people around the world, I love VF’s iconic brands. I’m so impressed by this organisation’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. I can’t wait to get to work.”

The announcement closely follows a slew of leadership changes at the group, including at many of its portfolio of brands, for which the likes of Dickies, Altra, Napapijri, Timberland and The North Face have each received new leadership in the last six months.