Keds, a division of Wolverine Worldwide, hired Dave Grange as the brand’s vice president of sales, North America. The hiring comes as the brand has been expanding into premium distribution.
Prior to his current appointment, Grange spent 16 years at Pentland Brands in various roles. Most recently, he presided as chief executive officer of Pentland Brands overseeing the profit and loss statement for the wholesale business, focusing primarily on Lacoste footwear and Ted Baker. Previously at Pentland, Grange was president of Lacoste footwear in North America, driving top-line growth of the brand over a three-year period.
“It’s a privilege to be part of the leadership team guiding the Keds brand through the next phase of growth,” stated Grange. “Keds is such an iconic American brand with over 100 years of history. My initial focus is building new premium distribution, implementing a full segmentation strategy while protecting the heritage and legacy of such an important brand.”
“Dave brings years of expertise, specifically with global heritage brands and growing sales where brand recognition is already in place,” said Gillian Meek, president of Keds. “We were the first athletic shoe created specifically for women and Dave is a seasoned footwear executive who not only honors brand legacy but has a shining track record of growing sales for iconic brands such as Keds.”
In addition to his footwear expertise, Grange has been a guest speaker at the Footwear News CEO Summit and served as a board member of the Two Ten Footwear Foundation.
Photo courtesy Keds
