The North Face owner VF Corp on Monday appointed two new independent directors to its board, amid pressures from activist investor Engaged Capital for a board reshuffle and faster change at the company grappling with choppy demand.
Engaged Capital, which has a 1.3% stake in VF, has been pushing for board representation and has already successfully pressed VF to cut costs and explore strategic alternatives since disclosing its position in the company in October last year.
With the appointments, VF has added five new directors to its board within the past two years, including directors with fashion apparel and footwear experience.
VF Corp named Mindy Grossman and Kirk Tanner as independent directors and appointed Caroline Brown, who joined VF’s board of directors in February, to the position of global brand president of The North Face, succeeding Nicole Otto.
Grossman is a partner at advisory and investing firm Consello, while Tanner helms Wendy’s Co and is a member of its board since February 2024.
The Denver-based apparel retailer last month named Spotify’s former CFO Paul Vogel as its new finance chief, effective July 8.
“These appointments represent further steps in VF’s refreshment process, and reflect our continued constructive collaboration with VF shareholder Engaged Capital,” VF Corp said in a statement.
Grossman and Tanner will stand for re-election at the company’s 2024 annual shareholders meeting, while director Benno Dorer will not be standing for re-election, it added.
In May, VF Corp posted a fourth-quarter loss and reported revenue below analysts’ estimates as sales continued to decline across its brands. Its shares are down nearly 27% so far this year.
