VF Corp. appointed Steve Murray global brand president, The North Face. Previously VF’s president of the Americas Region, Murray replaces Arne Arens who has stepped down to pursue other opportunities outside of VF.

In line with the company’s ongoing transformation initiative, VF has eliminated the role of President of the Americas.

In appointing Murray to global brand president of The North Face, VF said it is tapping into Murray’s extensive experience built over a successful 30-year career leading global apparel and footwear brands.

Murray served as president of Vans following VF’s acquisition of the brand in 2004 and was later appointed as president of VF’s Action Sports Coalition in 2009. He has also held leadership roles with iconic youth brands including serving as CEO of Airwair International (Dr. Martens), global brand president of Urban Outfitters and EMEA president for Deckers Brands. Earlier in his career, Murray was the global head of apparel for Reebok International.

Chairman, President and CEO Steve Rendle said, “Steve is an incredibly strong and well-respected leader who knows our industry inside and out. I look forward to working even more closely with him, Doug, Martino and Kevin to accelerate our business model transformation and pursue the many opportunities ahead for all brands in the VF portfolio.”

Murray’s appointment also reflects organizational changes in support of its ongoing changing business model to ensure alignment in the management of its Core and Emerging Brands portfolio. With these changes, VF’s Executive Team for its three Core Brands (Vans, The North Face and Timberland) and its Emerging Brands (all other brands in its portfolio) now report directly to Rendle.

Reporting to Rendle are the following personnel within its brand leadership team:

  • Doug Palladini, global brand president, Vans
  • Steve Murray, global brand president, The North Face.
  • Martino Scabbia Guerrini, president, EMEA Region and interim global brand [resident, Timberland. Guerrini continues to lead the Timberland brand while the company seeks a permanent global brand president.
  • Kevin Bailey, president, Asia Pacific Region and Emerging Brands. Responsibilities include Altra, Eagle Creek, JanSport, and Smartwool.

“As we work to become a more integrated brand-building company, we must operate differently and manage our Core and Emerging Brands in differentiated ways in order to help each of them achieve their full potential,” said Rendle. “As we do this, it’s critical that we place our strongest talent on our most important opportunities to drive long-term, sustainable growth across our portfolio and in all geographies.”

In addition to VF’s brand leadership, the company’s enterprise function leaders will also continue to report to Rendle as members of VF’s Executive Leadership Team.

Photo courtesy Steve Murray/VF Corp.