Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Strategic Leadership Changes to Accelerate Its Shift to a Best-in-Class, Denim Lifestyle Retailer
February 11 2025 - 3:30PM
Business Wire
Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) (NYSE: LEVI) today announced
a series of strategic leadership changes aimed at accelerating the
company’s shift to become a best-in-class omnichannel retailer.
These changes are designed to realize the full potential of the
company’s iconic Levi’s® brand and products, improve the company’s
speed and agility, and further its commitment to consumer obsession
and innovation. These actions will streamline decision-making,
drive operational excellence and align the company’s structure with
its strategic priorities.
“Over the past year, we’ve made bold moves to transform Levi
Strauss & Co. into a world-class denim lifestyle retailer, and
we’re seeing the results,” said Michelle Gass, president and CEO of
Levi Strauss & Co. “We believe success is built on clarity of
purpose and the ability to adapt, and that’s exactly what we’re
doing — aligning our structure with our strategy to drive
sustainable, profitable growth. We have built a team that is agile,
focused and ready to execute on our strategies while keeping our
consumer at the heart of it all. By putting our fans at the center
of every decision, we are shaping Levi’s® not just as the denim
leader but as an iconic lifestyle brand for generations to
come.”
Key Organizational Changes
- Karyn Hillman’s role as Chief Product Officer has been
expanded to include Merchandising in addition to Design. Hillman is
now responsible for the overall vision, priorities and roadmap for
Levi’s® products and the brand. The architect of the Levi’s® design
aesthetic, Hillman is a veteran merchant with more than three
decades of design and merchandising experience who has had a
successful track record in building global brands, creating
compelling and innovative product assortments, optimizing
go-to-market strategies and driving results.
- Jason Gowans’s role also has expanded, and he is now the
company’s Chief Digital and Technology Officer. Gowans will oversee
both the digital and enterprise technology functions, which will
help the company streamline processes and unify data, enhancing
LS&Co.’s digital capabilities and operational excellence across
all of our platforms.
- Harmit Singh’s role as Chief Financial and Growth
Officer has expanded to include oversight of LS&Co.’s
Transformation program to accelerate improvements in the company’s
structural economics, supporting our growth and profitability
goals. Singh will also lead the expansion of the shared services
model, building global talent hubs around the world.
- Gianluca Flore, Chief Commercial Officer, has expanded
his scope and will now oversee Licensing and Planning, which will
drive tighter alignment between sales and inventory, directive
assortment and accountability for inventory management.
- Bernard Bedon has been appointed as Chief Human
Resources Officer, effective March 3. Bedon will report to Gass and
will join the company’s executive leadership team. Bedon has nearly
30 years of HR experience and is known for leading complex global
change initiatives, effectively building and developing
high-performing teams and supporting strong performance through
transformations. Bedon joins LS&Co. from Nike, where he most
recently served as lead human resources business partner (HRBP) for
the company and was responsible for supporting more than 81,000
employees across the enterprise. In his role, he also served as
lead HRBP for Nike’s Consumer & Marketplace team, the Global
Sales team and the Jordan and Converse brands.
- Liz O’Neill, Chief Operations Officer, has announced her
intention to retire from LS&Co. after nearly 12 years. To
further streamline the company’s structure and ways of working, the
Chief Operations Officer position will be replaced with a new Chief
Supply Chain Officer, who will be responsible for supply chain
agility, improving service levels, fostering innovation and
optimizing our cost structure.
These organizational changes are designed to align LS&Co.’s
structure with its strategy while unlocking speed, reducing
complexity and fostering innovation to better serve consumers and
drive profitable, sustainable long-term growth.
About Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) is one of the world's
largest brand-name apparel companies and a global leader in
jeanswear. The company designs and markets jeans, casual wear and
related accessories for men, women and children under the Levi's®,
Levi Strauss Signature™, Denizen®, Dockers® and Beyond Yoga®
brands. Its products are sold in approximately 120 countries
worldwide through a combination of chain retailers, department
stores, online sites, and a global footprint of approximately 3,400
retail stores and shop-in-shops. Levi Strauss & Co.'s reported
2024 net revenues were $6.4 billion. For more information, go to
http://levistrauss.com, and for financial news and announcements go
to http://investors.levistrauss.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250211627732/en/
Investor Contact: Aida Orphan Levi Strauss & Co.
(415) 501-6194 Investor-relations@levi.com
Media Contact: Elizabeth Owen Levi Strauss & Co.
(415) 501-7777 Newsmediarequests@levi.com
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