Caroline Brown Becomes President of The North Face — and the Newest Female Brand President at VF

VF Corp. has named Caroline Brown the global brand president of The North Face.

Brown, who served as an independent director on the VF board from February 2024 to May 2024, will assume the global brand president role at The North Face the week of June 10. With the appointment, VF Corp. confirmed Brown has resigned as a member of its board of directors.

Brown succeeds Nicole Otto, who became The North Face’s global brand president in June 2022, succeeding Steve Murray, who retired and returned to the UK.

Prior to assuming this role, Brown most recently was a managing director at the New York-based investment firm and innovation center Closed Loop Partners, which focuses on the circular economy. VF Corp. said via statement that she led the firm’s fashion practice.

Brown also previously served as the chief executive officer of Donna Karan International and DKNY, and prior to that was the president of Carolina Herrera and the U.S. Chief Executive Officer of Swiss luxury fashion brand Akris. Her career began at Giorgio Armani, where she spent more than 10 years in various marketing and communications leadership roles.

This new hire comes less than a week after Vans, another VF-owned company, named former Lululemon chief product officer Sun Choe as its brand president.

“Caroline’s expertise in building and transforming global brands, as well as her extensive experience in the apparel and fashion industry, fit perfectly with the needs of The North Face brand at this time,” VF president and chief executive officer Bracken Darrell said in a statement. “With Caroline’s intense focus on brand building, product design, consumer insight, and innovation, I am confident The North Face will expand on its enormous power as a leading global outdoor brand and be a driving force behind VF’s growth and value creation.”

He continued, “On behalf of the board and leadership team, I thank Nicole for her dedication and service to VF and the brand, and wish her the best in her future endeavors.”

What’s more, VF also announced that Mindy Grossman — a fashion industry veteran whose resume includes leadership roles at Nike, Ralph Lauren and Fanatics — and Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner have been appointed independent directors on the VF board, effective May 30. Grossman and Tanner will stand for re-election at the 2024 Annual Meeting of VF Shareholders, the company said via statement, and Benno Dorer has decided not to stand for re-election at the 2024 Annual Meeting.

“Mindy and Kirk are proven leaders with extensive track records leading complex companies and supercharging the growth of global consumer brands through innovation, marketing and digital strategies. We look forward to benefiting from their insights as VF continues to improve execution and enhance innovation as part of its Reinvent strategy,” Richard Carucci, chair of the VF board, said in a statement. “These appointments represent further steps in VF’s refreshment process, and reflect our continued constructive collaboration with VF shareholder Engaged Capital. With these appointments, VF has added five new directors to its Board within the past two years, including directors with valuable apparel and footwear experience.”

He continued, “We are grateful to Benno for his contributions to VF over many years of service, and particularly appreciate his work and impact as interim CEO prior to Bracken Darrell’s appointment. We thank Benno and extend to him our best wishes for the future.”

About the Author

Peter Verry is the Senior News and Features Editor for Athletic and Outdoor at Footwear News. He oversees coverage of the two fast-paced and ultracompetitive markets, which includes conducting in-depth interviews with industry leaders and writing stories on sneakers and outdoor shoes. He is a lifelong sneaker addict (and shares his newest purchases via @peterverry on Instagram) and spends most of his free time on a trail. He holds an M.A. in journalism from Hofstra University and can be reached at peter.verry@footwearnews.com.