Vans hired Erwin Federizo as global executive creative director. Joyce Ha will oversee global men’s apparel and accessories merchandising as well as Vans’ Active merchandising and design.
Federizo reports to the global vice president of creative, Jamie Reilly. In Federizo’s role, he will oversee the creative, environmental design and digital content divisions that bring to life Vans’ brand ethos of enabling creative expression.
Prior to Vans, Federizo spent the majority of his career on the agency side, most recently at Wieden + Kennedy New York as creative director and art director, where he created the “RE2PECT” Derek Jeter campaign for Nike’s Jordan Brand, which won the 2015 Cannes Grand Prix Titanium Lion for his integrated campaign work.
Federizo also created non-traditional campaigns for brands like Squarespace, where he conceptualized and recorded an album with actor Jeff Bridges titled Sleeping Tapes, which spent 10 weeks and reached Number 2 on Billboard’s New Age chart. Federizo has experience working across brands like ESPN, BMW, Spotify, Sprite and more, giving him extensive experience in generating a variety of creative visions and content development. He is a California native and joins the team at the Vans HQ in Costa Mesa.
While Vans welcomes new talent to the team, two long-time Vans employees make moves to further extend their experience to new challenges in 2018. Joyce Ha joined Vans Asia Pacific in 2012 and today is the acting vice president, product and e-commerce development in the region. Ha has contributed to the extensive and fast-pasted growth of the Vans Asia Pacific region, bringing a wealth of product knowledge and leadership experience. In her new role, Ha will oversee global men’s apparel and accessories merchandising as well as Vans’ Active merchandising and design. Before joining Vans, she held merchandising roles at Levi Strauss & Co, Macy’s and Vans’ sister brand The North Face. Ha will be relocating to her native California in April 2018.
As Ha moves back to California, Vans veteran Dabney Lee will be promoted to replace Ha’s former position as the vice president of Vans Asia Pacific Product, located in Hong Kong and reporting in to the general manager of Vans Asia Pacific, Scott Basham. She will lead the product team in accelerating innovation and consumer interest to drive continued growth in the region.
Lee started her career at Vans in 2004 working through the ranks across Vans accessories and footwear collections. As the senior director of global footwear merchandising for Classics, her work has influenced the resurgence of Vans’ heritage product offering. Her in-depth understanding of the Vans brand and its products will further lend itself to increase consumer awareness in a growing region. Lee will be relocating to Hong Kong in March 2018.
“I couldn’t be more pleased to share changes that will be taking place across our global leadership team in 2018,” shared Vans global brand president Doug Palladini. “Having a global mindset and approach is critical to the growth of our brand. There is no better way to achieve that goal than to experience other businesses around the world and extend key learnings that keep Vans the icon of creative expression.”
