Underwear maker Saxx appointed Tom Berry as chief executive officer, succeeding Wendy Bennison. Most recently, Berry was president and CEO of the America’s region for the Danish footwear company Ecco. Previously, he held leadership roles at Levi Strauss & Co, Tecnica, Salomon, and The North Face.
Saxx, based in Vancouver, BC, said Berry has led brand “transformations, new business development and launches, category and geography extensions, turnarounds, and profitable partnerships,” and comes as the company “has established itself as the number-one men’s single-pack boxer brief brand in the U.S.”
Bennison, who has been CEO since June 2017, will remain in the business to facilitate a transition period before joining the Saxx board of directors in April 2024.
“With Tom at the helm and the continued dedication of our team and retail partners, we are heading into an exciting future as we reach more men with innovative, technical and life-changing products,” said Dan Galpern, chairman of the Saxx board and partner at Saxx investor TZP Group. “Wendy’s remarkable achievements, including overseeing a period of significant growth and expansion, will leave a lasting mark on Saxx’s success, and we look forward to welcoming her onto the Saxx board.”
“It’s a true privilege to succeed Wendy and join a category leader and innovator,” said Berry. “The Saxx team has introduced countless men to Saxx’s life-changing underwear, but the reality is that the opportunity is so much larger as more men realize the benefits of taking care of themselves. I look forward to working with the Saxx Team, our world-class retail partners, and TZP to let men know it’s time to upgrade their underwear drawer.”
Bennison, who formerly held leadership roles at Kit and Ace, Roots and Mark’s Warehouse, tripled the size of Saxx’s business since joining the company in 2017 and led the company through a period of substantial scaling, a rebrand and the entry into multiple new product categories, including activewear, sleepwear and swim. She also spearheaded an aggressive U.S. retail expansion, including forming partnerships with premium department and sporting goods stores and specialty retail partners.
“Encouraging men to embrace self-care has been one of the greatest surprises and most fulfilling challenges of my career — and it’s a mission the team has catapulted at Saxx,” said Bennison. “I am thrilled that Tom is joining us to lead the next chapter in this incredible brand story.”
Photos courtesy Saxx
