The North Face Appoints New Heads Of Product And Merchandising

The North Face announced the appointment of Kelly Cortina as vice president of global product and Darren Cookson as global vice president of merchandising for the company, effective immediately. Cortina was most recently VP global merchandising, Center of Excellence at Under Armour while Cookson was VP of product & merchandising EMEA, The North Face.

“Kelly and Darren are deeply rooted in our industry and bring fantastic experience and leadership to The North Face,” said Arne Arens, global brand president, The North Face. “Kelly’s focus on product excellence is vital for our global growth, and Darren brings a deep understanding of the market to lead our global merchandising teams. They are key players as we evolve to meet the demands of a global market and build community around a shared appreciation of exploration.”

Cortina comes to The North Face after spending 13 years with Under Armour in a variety of roles, including product creation, direct-to-consumer and global merchandising. As vice president of global product for The North Face, Cortina will lead product strategy and innovation globally, leaning strongly into consumer insights, which she believes are the key to unlocking innovation, ideal fit and ultimately creating market-leading product.

Cookson will work closely with the leadership team to drive integrated global merchandising strategy across apparel and equipment lines. He spent the past three years as VP of product & merchandising EMEA The North Face, where he was responsible for the merchandising, management, design and development of product for Europe. Prior to that time, he spent seven years at Timberland, working in a variety of roles including director, apparel and retail buying and merchandising, merchandise director for men’s footwear and European retail head of buying.

This announcement follows the recent appointment of Travis Campbell to the position of vice president, general manager, The North Face, Americas. Campbell will be responsible for providing leadership and vision for the brand’s Americas business by creating and executing growth strategies in sales, direct-to-consumer and merchandising.