• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, June 4, 2024

Shakeups are brewing in the boardroom of VF Corp., parent of the North Face, Vans, Timberland and Dickie’s. The company has elected two new board members, spurred by requests from activist investors and growing restlessness with the poor performance of VF brands. And it named board member Caroline Brown as the new global brand president of the North Face.

Brown replaces Nicole Otto, the long-term Nike vet who joined the North Face as president just two years ago. A spokesperson confirmed Otto will be leaving VF.

In October, the Wall Street Journal reported that Engaged Capital had acquired a significant stake in VF. In February, VF announced it would appoint Brown to the board following “constructive engagement” with Engaged. As a result of Brown’s new role, she is stepping down from the VF corporate board.

The company also announced that Mindy Grossman, the former president of WW International, once known as Weight Watchers, and Kirk Tanner, the former chief executive officer of Wendy’s, have been appointed independent directors on the VF Board. VF says those appointments represent its “continued constructive collaboration” with Engaged Capital.

The changes follow last week’s announcement that Sun Cho will be the new global brand president for the struggling Vans brand. She had been the chief product officer of Lululemon.

Brown, who joined the VF Board in February, most recently was managing director of Closed Loop Partners, an investment firm. She is also the former chief executive officer of Donna Karan International and DKNY and president of Carolina Herrera, the luxury fashion house.

VF is in the midst of a transformation plan led by Bracken Darrell, president and CEO. Darrell, who had held the same role at Logitech, took the reins a year ago, implementing streamlining and “right-sizing” efforts.

In results released last week, VF reported fourth-quarter revenue of $2.4 billion, a 13% decline. That included a 5% drop at the North Face and a 26% tumble at Vans. And its net loss for the quarter nearly doubled, rising to $418.3 million from $214.9 million in the year-ago period.