VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC), a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories, yesterday announced the appointment of Caroline Brown to the company’s Board of Directors, effective February 14, 2024. This appointment follows constructive engagement with VF’s shareholders, including Engaged Capital, LLC (“Engaged Capital”). VF also intends to appoint to the Board another independent director in the near term mutually agreed with Engaged Capital and will give priority to considering the candidates who have been identified by Engaged Capital (the “Additional Director”). VF expects Ms. Brown and the Additional Director will be nominated at VF’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”) and after the Annual Meeting, VF’s Board will comprise 13 directors, including no more than 11 of VF’s current directors.
Ms. Brown is an accomplished executive, director, investor and advisor with over 30 years of experience at global companies in the apparel and fashion sector.
From 2019 to 2023, she was a Managing Director at Closed Loop Partners, a New York-based investment firm and innovation centre focused on the development of the circular economy, where she led the firm’s fashion practice. Ms. Brown previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Donna Karan International (DKI) and DKNY from 2015 to 2017. During that time, she led a transformation of DKI, elevating product design, modernizing brand identity, and overseeing organizational structure realignments and supply chain consolidations. She led the company through the sale from LVMH to G-III Apparel Group. Before DKI, Brown was President of Carolina Herrera, a luxury fashion house owned by PUIG, where she led evolution in product development, brand architecture and international expansion. Before that, she served as the U.S. Chief Executive Officer of Akris, Inc., a Swiss-based luxury fashion brand. Ms. Brown began her career at Giorgio Armani, where she spent over a decade in marketing and communications leadership roles.
Ms. Brown has served on numerous boards of innovative companies in the fashion industry including EILEEN FISHER, Browzwear, Dimpora, By Rotation, For Days, and others. She is an MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative Advisory Board member and an Advisor to the Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
“We are excited to welcome Caroline to the VF Board,” said Chair of the VF Board, Richard Carucci. “Caroline is highly respected in the apparel industry, with a proven track record of turning around, scaling and transforming global brands, and her insights will be valuable as the company continues to execute its Reinvent strategy.”
“I’m honoured to be joining VF’s Board and look forward to working with management and my fellow directors at this important moment for the company,” said Brown. “Having worked on the leadership and investment sides of the apparel and fashion industry, I recognize the tremendous potential of VF’s portfolio of beloved brands. I believe VF has what it needs to return to strong and sustainable profitable growth. I look forward to capitalizing on my experience to help the company deliver enhanced value for shareholders over time.”
This appointment is another step in VF’s continuous refreshment of the Board. With this appointment, VF has added four new directors to its Board within the past two years (five following the appointment of the Additional Director), expanding the Board’s experience in footwear and apparel, retail, design, technology and sustainability.
Mr. Carucci continued, “We appreciate the constructive input provided by Engaged Capital over the past several months and look forward to continuing our dialogue with Engaged Capital and other shareholders as we continue improving the company’s performance.”
Glenn W. Welling, Founder and CIO of Engaged Capital, said, “We are excited that the Board has added Caroline Brown, who will bring a wealth of apparel experience to the boardroom. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with Caroline and the rest of the Board on the appointment of the Additional Director. We believe these appointments will help support Bracken Darrell and the management team as they lead the turnaround of this iconic portfolio of brands.”
