LEVI STRAUSS & CO - Key Persons
Chip Bergh, executive vice chair, served as LS&Co.'s president and chief executive officer from 2011 to 2024 and has been a director on the board since 2011. Prior to joining LS&Co., Mr. Bergh held a progression of leadership roles during his 28-year career at Procter & Gamble. Mr. Bergh is also the non-executive Chairman of the Board at HP, Inc. He previously served on the board of directors for VF Corporation, the Singapore Economic Development Board and was a member of the US-ASEAN Business Council, Singapore.
Christopher McCormick, a director since 2016, was President and Chief Executive Officer of L.L. Bean, Inc. from 2001 until 2016. Prior to becoming President and Chief Executive Officer of L.L. Bean, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer from 2000 to 2001. Mr. McCormick joined L.L. Bean in 1983, previously serving in a number of senior and executive level positions in advertising and marketing. Mr. McCormick is a director of Big Lots!, Inc and serves as Committee Chair for its Capital Allocation & Planning Committee. He is also a former director of Sun Life Financial, Inc. Mr. McCormick brings to our board of directors his deep channel knowledge and eCommerce and direct marketing experience.
David A. Friedman, a director since 2018, is a retired Senior Principal, Emeritus Chief Executive Officer, and past-Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Forell/Elsesser Engineers, with over 40 years of professional practice in structural and earthquake engineering. Mr. Friedman is the President and an active member of the board of directors for the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, which disseminates lessons learned from earthquakes around the world, and served on its post-earthquake reconnaissance teams in Kobe, Japan in 1995 and Wenchuan, China in 2008. Mr. Friedman is also involved in many institutional, academic, philanthropic and not-for-profit boards, including the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, the University of California, Berkeley Foundation, the Jewish Home of San Francisco and Build Change. Mr. Friedman is a licensed structural engineer in California, Nevada and British Columbia. Mr. Friedman was selected to join our board of directors due to his broad professional experience, as well as his extensive background with our company arising from his familial connection to our founder.
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Senior Vice President
David Jedrzejek is senior vice president and general counsel at Levi Strauss & Co. He leads the global legal department in supporting LS&Co. businesses operating in over 110 countries. He is responsible for all aspects of legal, ethics and compliance, enterprise resilience and governance, in addition to acting as counselor to the board of directors and executive leadership. He is a member of the company's executive leadership team. David also oversees the Levi Strauss Foundation, whose mission is to bring pioneering social change. David joined LS&Co. in 2015 and served in several senior legal roles before taking on his current position. Prior to LS&Co., David practiced law at Gap Inc. and at the law firms Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. David also serves as the Board Chair of the nonprofit organization San Francisco Baykeeper.
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Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Conagra Brands
David Marberger currently serves as the executive vice president and chief financial officer for Conagra Brands, where he oversees the company's finance and information technology functions. He joined Conagra Brands in August 2016. Prior to joining Conagra Brands, Mr. Marberger served as chief financial officer at Prestige Brands, a provider of over-the-counter health care products with a portfolio of over 80 brands. Mr. Marberger also served as chief financial officer of Godiva Chocolatier for seven years, where he was responsible for the finance, accounting, audit, tax and IT functions, in addition to overseeing Godiva's worldwide strategic planning process. And before that, Mr. Marberger served as chief financial officer of Tasty Baking Company and spent 10 years at Campbell Soup Company, where he held finance roles with increasing responsibility.
Job Titles:
- Chief Merchandising Officer
- Senior Merchandising Executive
Dawn Vitale is an accomplished senior merchandising executive, with more than 20 years of global experience in apparel category development and market expansion across wholesale and retail channels. Her passion for creating lasting consumer connections with brands through revenue-driving, strategic initiatives has supported both commercial and brand equity. As chief merchandising officer for the Levi's® brand, Dawn oversees the global strategies to help drive market share and establish the brand as a denim lifestyle leader.
Prior to joining LS&Co. in 2018, Dawn held leadership positions at PVH, where she served as vice president of Tommy Jeans and head of merchandising for Calvin Klein Jeans in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She has also held a number of strategic merchandising roles at Gap Inc. across its brands and businesses. Dawn received her B.S. in Design & Merchandising from Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Foot Locker, Inc
Elliott Rodgers currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Foot Locker, Inc having joined the company in December 2022. Prior to joining Foot Locker, Elliott served as Chief People Officer at project44, a supply chain visibility platform from October 2021 to December 2022. Mr. Rodgers previously served as Chief Information Officer and Chief Supply Chain Officer at Ulta Beauty. He joined Ulta Beauty in 2013 and served in a number of senior positions where he led distribution, transportation, supplier operations, sales and operations planning, and supply chain strategy, including leading the transformation of Ulta Beauty's supply chain in support of its strategic imperatives. Prior to Ulta Beauty, Mr. Rodgers held operational leadership roles spanning retail, financial services, and logistics at Target, Citibank and the United States Army.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial and Growth Officer
Harmit Singh is our chief financial and growth officer. He is responsible for managing our finance, strategy, information technology, strategic sourcing, real estate and global business services functions globally. Previously, Harmit was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Hyatt Hotels Corporation from August 2008 to December 2012. Prior to that, he spent 14 years at Yum! Brands, Inc. in a variety of global leadership roles, including senior vice president and chief financial officer of Yum Restaurants International. Before joining Yum!, Harmit worked in various financial capacities for American Express India & Area Countries.
In 2019, Harmit joined the Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) project, helping to establish the U.S. Chapter of the organization and mobilize other prominent financial leaders to promote the business case for sustainability. In 2021, he was named the U.S. Co-Chair of A4S. In 2023, Harmit joined the board of directors and the Compensation Committee of The AZEK® Company. Also in 2023, Harmit was awarded with the Larkin Street 2023 Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award, a coveted award given to CFOs whose contributions have significantly and uniquely impacted the San Francisco Bay Area business community.
Harmit served on the board of directors and the Audit Committee chair of Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. and is the former owner, operator and franchisor of Buffalo Wild Wings Restaurants. Harmit also served on the board of directors and the Audit Committee of OpenText Corporation.
Job Titles:
- Chief Digital Officer
- Senior Vice President
- Digital Leader
- Michelle Gass President & Chief Executive Officer
Jason Gowans is an accomplished digital leader with more than 25 years of experience in the industry. Jason joined Levi Strauss & Co. in 2023 as LS&Co.'s first-ever chief digital officer. In this role, Jason is focused on bringing together LS&Co.'s engineering, data, AI and digital product management to spearhead digital efforts both for ecommerce and digital go-to-market. Prior to LS&Co., Jason spent 10 years at Nordstrom in a variety of marketing, data science and digital roles, serving most recently as senior vice president of digital commerce, leading the growth of Nordstrom's digital business on Nordstrom.com and NordstromRack.com. Before that, Jason was senior vice president of data science and analytics, leading data science and analytics for the company across all functional areas, including marketing, digital, merchandising and supply chain. Jason has a proven track record and expertise in streamlining and optimizing digital operations across businesses. Before Nordstrom, Jason held multiple positions building companies using data and insights, including co-founding his own company, which harnessed technology to bring people together in a new and unique way.
Jenny Ming, a director since 2014, is CEO of Rothys. Prior to becoming CEO of Rothys, she was President and Chief Executive Officer of Charlotte Russe Inc., a fast-fashion specialty retailer of apparel and accessories catering to young women, a position she held from October 2009 to February 2019. From March 1999 to October 2006, Ms. Ming served as President of Old Navy, a $7 billion brand in The Gap, Inc.'s portfolio, where she oversaw all aspects of Old Navy and its 900 retail clothing stores in the United States and Canada. Ms. Ming joined The Gap, Inc. in 1986, serving in various executive capacities at its San Francisco headquarters, and in 1994, she was a member of the executive team who launched Old Navy. Ms. Ming serves on the Boards of Directors of Poshmark, Affirm, Kendra Scott, Rothy's and Kaiser Hospital and Health Plan. Ms. Ming was selected to join our board of directors due to her extensive operational and retail leadership experience in the apparel industry.
Jill Beraud, a director since 2013, most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Ippolita, a privately-held luxury jewelry company with distribution in high-end department stores, flagship and eCommerce, from October 2015 until September 2018. Prior to Ippolita, Ms. Beraud was Executive Vice President for Tiffany & Co., with responsibility for its Global Retail Operations and oversight of strategic store development and real estate from October 2014 until June 2015. Prior to Tiffany & Co., Ms. Beraud was with Living Proof, Inc., a privately-held company that uses advanced medical and materials technologies to create hair care and skin care products for women, where she was Chief Executive Officer from December 2011 to October 2014. Prior to that, Ms. Beraud served as President of Starbucks/Lipton Joint Ventures and Chief Marketing Officer of PepsiCo Americas Beverages from July 2009 to June 2011, and PepsiCo's Global Chief Marketing Officer from December 2008 to July 2009. Before PepsiCo, Ms. Beraud spent 13 years at Limited Brands in various roles, including Chief Marketing Officer of Victoria's Secret and Executive Vice President of Marketing for its broader portfolio of specialty brands, including Bath & Body Works, C.O. Bigelow, Express, Henri Bendel and Limited Stores. Ms. Beraud currently serves as a director of Revance Therapeutics, Inc., on the Board of Governors for the World of Children non-profit organization and as Chair of the Board for the Fashion for Good Foundation. Ms. Beraud was selected to join our board of directors due to her extensive marketing, social media and consumer branding experience, as well as her extensive managerial and operational knowledge in the apparel and other consumer goods industries.
Joshua E. Prime joined our board of directors in 2019. Mr. Prime is the Partner, Idea Generation and Research, at Indaba Capital Management, L.P., where he has served since its founding in 2010. From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Prime was a manager of retail strategy for the Americas Region of Levi Strauss & Co. From 1999 to 2005, Mr. Prime served as an analyst in merger arbitrage, special situations and credit at Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. Mr. Prime was selected to join our board of directors due to his broad professional experience, including with our company, and his additional insight arising from his familial connection to our founder.
Job Titles:
- Chief Product Officer
- Senior Vice President
Karyn Hillman is an accomplished design and merchandising veteran with more than 25 years of experience in the retail world. Karyn joined Levi Strauss & Co. in 2013 in the newly created position of chief product officer. In this role, Karyn is responsible for product design, innovation and merchandising for Levi's®, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.™ and Denizen® around the globe. Prior to LS&Co., Karyn served as the executive vice president and global head of product creation for Calvin Klein Jeans and CK Accessories. She was responsible for design, product development, merchandising and marketing across all channels and geographies. Prior to working at Calvin Klein, Karyn was senior vice president at Gap Inc., overseeing global merchandising for women's, men's, accessories and GapBody. She began her tenure in 1991, building her expansive merchandising and product expertise across many product categories for both Gap and Banana Republic. Karyn has a successful track record in building global brands, creating compelling and innovative product assortments, optimizing go-to-market strategies, establishing global category management and driving market share results. She is passionate about building and leading exceptional creative teams.
Job Titles:
- Chief Communications Officer
- Senior Vice President
- Communications Leader
- Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for LS & Co
Kelly McGinnis is senior vice president and chief communications officer for LS&Co. She is responsible for shaping the company's corporate affairs strategy and managing stakeholder relations. She oversees a global team that includes media relations, internal communications, government affairs, consumer relations, community relations and the Red Tab Foundation, the company's employee assistance fund. She's also a member of the company's worldwide leadership team, which determines the global direction for LS&Co.
Kelly is a seasoned communications leader with more than 20 years of experience. Throughout her career, she has led teams both in-house and at agencies on a variety of accounts in the consumer goods, apparel, technology and financial industries.
Prior to joining LS&Co. in August 2013, Kelly served as vice president of global communications for Dell. Before Dell, she held leadership positions at agencies, including AxiCom, U.S. (which is part of the Y&R Brands), Fleishman-Hillard and Shandwick International.
Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts from Miami University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington.
Job Titles:
- Chief Marketing Officer
- Senior Vice President
- Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of the Levi's® Brand
As senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the Levi's® brand at Levi Strauss & Co., Kenny Mitchell spearheads the brand's global marketing strategies, focused on building denim leadership, growing market share and cementing its position as a lifestyle brand at the center of culture.
Prior to joining LS&Co. in 2023, Kenny served as the chief marketing officer of Snap Inc., where he led brand and business marketing efforts globally, with a focus on driving the growth of the Snapchat community, as well as the base of advertising and developer partners. Kenny has also been an accomplished leader at McDonald's U.S., Gatorade and NASCAR, where he oversaw the marketing efforts related to key consumer touchpoints - creative, digital, design, retail and experiential.
Over the course of his 20+ year career, Kenny has been recognized for his innovative leadership, including being named one of "The Most Creative People in Business" by Fast Company, Forbes CMO NEXT, AdWeek 50, Business Insider: 25 Most Innovative CMOs and Campaign Power 100. Additionally, he has won numerous creative awards, including multiple Cannes Lions, film festival selections including Tribeca and two Emmy nominations. Kenny currently serves on the Board of Directors for e.l.f. Beauty. He received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operations Officer
- Executive Vice President
Liz O'Neill is the executive vice president and chief operations officer at Levi Strauss & Co. Liz is responsible for all supply chain operations, which consists of sourcing, end-to-end planning, distribution, logistics and sustainability. She also leads companywide innovation, managing our internal startup capabilities and offsite design lab while simultaneously working closely with our vendor partners to execute our latest product creations. Liz is a member of the company's executive leadership team, which guides the strategic direction for LS&Co.
Prior to joining LS&Co., Liz was at Gap, Inc., holding leadership roles in both Gap brand and Old Navy and overseeing sourcing and production management for Gap's global brands from 2001 to 2013. She previously spent several years at The Disney Store and Abercrombie and Fitch, holding positions in both merchandising and product management.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- President
- Levi Strauss & Co. in 2023 As President
- LS & Co.'S President and Chief Executive Officer
- Michelle Gass President & Chief Executive Officer
Michelle Gass has been LS&Co.'s President and Chief Executive Officer since 2024. She is also on the company's board of directors.
Michelle joined us in 2023 as the company's president. She was responsible for leading the Levi's® brand and the company's global digital and commercial operations until the board of directors appointed her CEO in 2024.
Prior to joining LS&Co., Michelle served as CEO of Kohl's, where she led the transformation of the company's effort to become a leading omnichannel retailer while acquiring and elevating notable national brand partnerships, including a long-term partnership with Sephora. During her time at Kohl's, she drove significant capabilities in digital, growing the ecommerce business at a double-digit rate to $6 billion annually and evolving the Kohl's loyalty program into an industry-leading platform. Michelle joined Kohl's in 2013 as chief customer officer and was named chief merchandising and customer officer in 2015. She was promoted to CEO-elect in October 2017 prior to assuming the CEO role in May 2018. Michelle has more than 30 years of experience in the retail and consumer goods industries. Before joining Kohl's, she spent more than 16 years with Starbucks and held a variety of leadership roles across marketing, strategy, merchandising and operations before being promoted to president, Starbucks EMEA. Michelle began her career with Procter & Gamble. Throughout her career, she has received numerous professional honors, including being named to Fortune's Most Powerful Women in Business and Businessperson of the Year lists, as well as being named The Visionary 2020 by the National Retail Federation. Michelle currently serves on the Board of Directors for PepsiCo, and on the Boards of the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National Retail Federation. She received her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from the University of Washington.
Michelle Gass joined Levi Strauss & Co. in 2023 as president, where she was responsible for leading the Levi's® brand and LS&Co.'s global digital and commercial operations. She has been LS&Co.'s president and chief executive officer since 2024. With over 30 years of experience in the retail and consumer goods industries, Ms. Gass previously served as a former CEO of Kohl's, where she was recognized as The Visionary 2020 by the National Retail Federation. She also spent over 16 years in leadership roles at Starbucks. She began her career with Procter & Gamble. She currently serves on the board of directors for PepsiCo and on the boards of the Retail Industry Leaders Associates and the National Retail Federation. She is also a member of the Levi Strauss Foundation board.
Nancy Green is the CEO of Beyond Yoga®, a body-positive, premium activewear and athleisure apparel brand focused on quality, fit and comfort for all shapes and sizes.
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Chief Executive Officer of Dockers®
Natalie MacLennan is an accomplished leader with over 15 years of experience in strategy, retail and apparel. As the CEO of Dockers®, she oversees all aspects of the brand across product, marketing, operations and commercial. Since joining the Dockers® team in 2020, Natalie has been pivotal in transforming Dockers® into a larger and more profitable global, casual lifestyle brand. She previously ran the Dockers® direct-to-consumer business globally, across retail and ecommerce, in addition to running business development, licensing and overall brand strategy.
Natalie joined Levi Strauss & Co. in 2017 to lead corporate strategy, playing a key role in the LS&Co. IPO and driving strategic initiatives across the company. She then joined the Americas leadership team, supporting both Levi's® and Dockers®.
Prior to joining LS&Co., Natalie spent 10 years in management consulting, most recently at The Boston Consulting Group, helping companies drive growth across apparel and consumer goods industries. She holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from McGill University and an MBA in finance from The Wharton School.
Natalie is a strategic and authentic leader who has a demonstrated ability to drive transformational change and profitable growth. She is passionate about building highly engaged teams and is excited to continue the ongoing Dockers® brand-building and growth journey.
Robert A. Eckert, a director since 2010, is Operating Partner of FFL Partners, LLC, a private equity firm, since September 2014. Mr. Eckert is also Chairman Emeritus of Mattel, Inc., a role he has held since January 2013. He was Mattel's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from May 2000 until December 2011, and he continued to serve as its Chairman until December 2012. He previously worked for Kraft Foods, Inc. for 23 years, and served as President and Chief Executive Officer from October 1997 until May 2000. From 1995 to 1997, Mr. Eckert was Group Vice President of Kraft Foods, and from 1993 to 1995, Mr. Eckert was President of the Oscar Mayer foods division of Kraft Foods. Mr. Eckert is currently a director of McDonald's Corporation, Amgen, Inc., Uber Technologies, Inc., Eyemart Express Holdings, LLC and Quinn Company. Mr. Eckert was selected to join our board of directors due to his experience as a senior executive engaged with the dynamics of building global consumer brands through high performance expectations, integrity and decisiveness in driving businesses to successful results.
Spencer C. Fleischer, a director since 2013, is Chairman of FFL Partners, LLC, a private equity firm. Before co-founding FFL Partners in 1997 and serving as Managing Partner until 2021, Mr. Fleischer spent 19 years at Morgan Stanley & Co. as an investment banker and senior leader. During his time there, he led business units in Asia, Europe and the United States. Mr. Fleischer currently serves as a director of The Clorox Company and Americans for Oxford, Inc. Mr. Fleischer was selected to join our board of directors due to his broad financial and international business perspective developed over many years in the private equity and investment banking industries.
Job Titles:
- Chief Human Resources Officer
- Executive Vice President
Tracy Layney is executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Levi Strauss & Co. Tracy is responsible for LS&Co.'s people strategy on a global scale, including diversity, equity & inclusion, recruiting, employee engagement, talent management, compensation and benefits, HR technology and HR communications.
Tracy brings more than 20 years of experience in human resources and organization strategy to her role. Prior to joining LS&Co., she served as senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Shutterfly, Inc. Before Shutterfly, Tracy spent 10 years at Gap Inc., where she held numerous senior leadership roles in HR, most recently serving as the senior vice president of Global Human Resources and Communications for Old Navy. Prior to Gap Inc., Tracy held positions at LS&Co. and PricewaterhouseCoopers/IBM Business Consulting Services where she worked with Fortune 500 clients in the high tech, financial services, retail, and healthcare industries on projects ranging from organization design and development to strategic change management.
Tracy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania where she graduated magna cum laude. She is active in the HR thought leader community and serves on the board of directors for the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Foundation.
Troy Alstead, a director since 2012, is the founder and President of Table 47 and Ocean5, a restaurant and social concept. In February 2016, he retired from Starbucks Corporation after 24 years with the company, having most recently served as Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Alstead previously held the positions of Group President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of Starbucks, and a number of operational, general management and finance roles throughout the years. Mr. Alstead spent a decade in Starbucks international business, including roles as Senior Leader of Starbucks International, President of Europe, Middle East and Africa headquartered in Amsterdam and Chief Operating Officer of Starbucks Greater China headquartered in Shanghai. Mr. Alstead currently serves as a director of Harley-Davidson, Inc., Array Technologies, and OYO Global. Mr. Alstead brings to our board of directors his broad financial and business perspective developed over many years in the global consumer goods industry.
Yael Garten, a director since 2020, is the AI/ML Director of Data Science and Engineering at Apple, where she joined in 2017. From 2011 to 2017, she was Director of Data Science at LinkedIn. Prior to joining LinkedIn, she was a Research Scientist and Text Mining Lead at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Garten was selected to join our board of directors for her expertise in data science, machine learning, and converting data into actionable product and business strategy. She has applied this expertise across products and services with massive global user bases.